Sin City Celebration
by LaneIA
Summary: x-over with CSI. Wedding bells will be ringing and the guys from Numb3rs head to Las Vegas for a killer bachelor party. Little do they know that killer will describe one of their own.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimers: Numb3rs is owned by CBS, et al. I own nothing other than the elements/characters of the story that I have written. The same can be said for CSI as I do not own any of the elements/characters. I am making no money from this and it is only for our entertainment.

Story Summary: Wedding bells are in the air and a bachelor party holds deadly implications. Cross over with CSI.

Author's notes: I've had this idea kicking around for several months and now I've got the time to write it. Please enjoy and take time to review if you can……you know we writers feed and grow stronger on it!

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He was nervous. It didn't take a genius to figure that out. He had straightened his tie at least six times already since he had arrived and glanced at his watch every minute; hoping that he could move time faster.

In ten minutes she should be arriving, he had never known her to be anything but punctual. In fact that was one of her many endearing qualities; once at work he had sat down and made a list of all of the things he loved about her. At 172 he had received a phone call that required his attention and he had slipped the list into his desk drawer.

They had been dating for quiet a while and had been co-workers and friends for even longer. Initially the decision to even enter into a dating relationship had had been cause for concern. Would they be able to maintain a professional demeanor around one another and more importunately, would co-workers and others still respect the individual work and accomplishments of the couple. The last thing either wanted were whispers about how she might be using her relationship to "climb" the ladder.

It was for that reason that they had kept their relationship secret until their friends started noticing something. Of course when you work with FBI agents, how long can you keep something secret?

Glancing again at his watch he saw that another two minutes had passed. Sighing, he looked around the restaurant. The Little Door was considered a very romantic spot. When he had called to make reservations he had asked for table that would give them a little privacy, however upon arrival he realized that every table had the feel of intimacy. He had entered through the rustic wooden doors and entered a covered patio that was thick with ferns and other exotic lush foliage. A nearby fountain added a musical component with the sound of the water running along the tiers. The soft light thrown off by the wrought-iron candelabras, lending the entire patio a soft and relaxing feel, supplemented the candles lighting the table.

Perfect he decided; a wonderful place for him to surprise her with their "anniversary" of dating. Colby had once told him the importance of remembering the little information that mattered to most women, including important dates. He smiled ruefully; Colby who was always full of advice about women and dating yet could not find a relationship of his own. One night stands yes, but second dates, no.

He looked again, just four minutes until his clock would show 8 o'clock. Keeping his eyes focused on the door he watched for her arrival. Suddenly, there she was. Standing, he watched as the host showed her towards the table.

She was beautiful. Her face had broken into a wide smile when she had seen him and he thought he really didn't deserve a woman like her. The dress that flowed with her as she walked across the room complemented the tone of her skin and her hair was up, exposing her neck. He could feel his arousal for her as he looked at her. She was a total package, smart, witty, sexy and for some crazy reason, in love with him.

"Hello," She was slightly breathless as she sat in the chair he had pulled out for her. "This is beautiful. I had heard that it was nice, but this is just perfect." She looked at him with her eyes sparkling, "Thank you for bringing me here."

"Only the best for you. If I could afford it I would fly you to the four corners of the earth and we would dine in the most exotic of restaurants." He reached for her hand and stroked it softly. "I'll have the private jet warming up and we can fly to Paris for dessert."

Laughing lightly at his joke, she added. "Perhaps a beach in the tropics for breakfast?"

"Why not." He picked up the menu. "I've ordered an appetizer and a bottle of wine already."

"Great, I'm starving. What did you order?" She looked up from the menu.

"The baked tomato and feta cheese tart."

"Sounds delicious." She glanced back to the menu.

The waiter approached the table and nodded to him, smiling and returning the nod he watched as the bottle was opened and a glass was offered to her.

"Thank you," She reached for the glass and as she went to take a drink she froze. Reaching into the empty glass, she pulled out a shining ring. Confusion was on her face, "Excuse me? Did you lose this?"

The waiter bit back a smile, "I don't believe so miss." He sat the bottle down and turned from the table.

Holding the ring, she looked at him; realization slowly dawning over her face.

Rising from his seat, he moved beside her and kneeled beside her. "I cannot begin to think of the words to tell you how much I love you. You are my waking thought and the last one I think about before I sleep. I see myself growing old with your eternal beauty by my side. I don't want to spend another day without your love, will you do my the honor of being my wife?"

She sat speechless for a moment; tears sprung to her eyes and slowly made their way down her cheeks. For an agonizing heartbeat he thought that he had made a mistake and that the tears were in sadness. It was all wiped away when he saw the sunny smile reappear on her face and a vigorous nodding of her head.

"Yes, yes, yes." She laughed thorough the tears. "I would love nothing more than being your wife. I love you so much."

He took the ring from her and slid it onto her finger. It was a perfect fit and he had Megan to thank for that. Girls apparently talked about thinks like that. The sparkle of the princess cut diamond was brilliant in the candlelight. Kissing her hand he rose and returned to his seat.

The waiter returned and poured wine for both and promised to return shortly with the appetizer. Once he had left, she smiled. "I don't know if I can eat a bite. I'm so excited." She paused for just a moment. "Oh, I'll have to call my mother, she'll be so surprised. There are so many people I'll have to call!"

"Easy," he smiled. "You can let them know tomorrow. Tonight," he lifted his glass for a toast. "Tonight and forever after is for us."

Author: So? Who is getting hitched? Cookies to the correct!


	2. Chapter 2

Author's notes: Wow, over 250 hits and two reviews, this must really suck. Oh well. I continue to write because I do it to entertain myself!! Anyway, just a note to let you know that this is set after season 4, but I've decided not to follow the series in that no one has decided to quit. Also, Larry is still hanging out with the Monks.

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Monday morning had dawned bright and clear. Don had arrived at work early hoping to catch up on some routine paperwork that had been piling up on his desk. The last several weeks had been a rush of cases; a kidnapping that had ended badly, a drug bust that had seized an unbelievable amount of meth and illegal weapons and three bank robberies.

Stretching back into his seat, he tried to loosen some of the knots that had developed in his lower back. Looking out of the window that led to the series of cubicles that were occupied by a wide variety of agents he noticed that Megan had just arrived and was carrying a sack from the Brooklyn Bagel Bakery. Walking to her desk, she noticed Don in his office and raised the sack invitingly. "Megan I love you!" Don spoke aloud as he lifted himself from the chair.

"Good morning boss." Megan's tone was very chipper for a Monday morning. "I thought we should start the week out on a good note so I dropped by Brooklyn's." She picked up the bag. "Some are still warm from the oven." She headed for the break room with Don trailing behind her.

"They smell great. Did you get that cream cheese with the jalapenos?" Don moved ahead of her and pushed open the door.

"Yes I did. A couple of others as well." Megan started to unload the contents of her bag. "Why don't you start a fresh pot of coffee?"

"Sure thing." Don dumped the remainder of the pot he had made earlier that morning and rinsed it out.

"Only half a cup of coffee grounds please, normally you and Granger make it thick enough to hold the spoon upright."

"Good coffee should stick to you ribs." Don grumbled as he opened up the coffee can. "Besides you get a higher dose of caffeine that way."

"Yup, just what Granger needs." Megan spoke as another man opened up the door to the break room.

"What do I need?" He playfully challenged Megan. "Hey bagels." Colby's joy at seeing bagels was evident.

"See, he's already a poster child for ADHD. All it takes for a bagel to distract him from his original thought." Megan smiled at Colby.

Colby held back from reaching for a bagel for just a moment. "I'll have you know that my mind can operate on so many different levels that mere food does not distract me, it just goes to another plane of existence."

"Plane of existence?" Don snorted. "You are starting to sound like Larry."

"Don!" Megan's tone was joking. "To compare Larry's mind to Colby's is like the difference between Einstein and the collective I.Q. of the Three Stooges."

Colby smiled at Megan's teasing, "Which Curly? Curly or Curly Joe?

Don took up the cause, "You know Megan, technically there were a total of seven Stooges, although the one that replaced Larry never filmed a movie with them." He pushed the brew button on the machine and stood back to enjoy the easy banter of his agents.

"Bad analogy, I forget every male on this planet loves the Three Stooges." Megan took a bagel and split it in half.

"Ohhhh, a wise guy!" Colby replied in his best Curly tone.

"Give it up Granger." Megan smoothed cream cheese onto the bagel. "You've got a face for radio. Nuk nuk nuk." She fired back.

"Not bad Megan. So are you a closet Stooge fan?" Colby grabbed half of her bagel and took a bite.

"Colby!" She swatted his hand away from her other half. "I've seen a few episodes in my time."

"Good morning everyone."

They all turned their focus on the door. David had just pushed open the break room door.

"So have I missed anything earth shattering?" David walked over to the bagels and helped himself to a poppy seed topped one.

"Just Megan and Colby doing their two Stooges routine." Don filled up a cup of coffee and shoved the decanter back under to continue filling.

Megan smiled, "But you were here too Don, doesn't that make you the third?"

"Maybe so, but I'm Moe. He was the brains of the outfit." Don set the cup down and began preparing a bagel for himself.

"So Megan, what gives? Bagels on a Monday?" Colby licked his fingers and reached for a bagel of his own.

"Truth be told, I was starving. Larry had invited me to the monastery this weekend because it was his weekend to cook for the Brothers. Let me put it this way, there are only so many ways to prepare tofu and none of them edible. I'm just trying to make up for the lost nutrients."

"Weekend at a monastery, hmmmm. Sounds like my weekend." Colby sighed.

"Wait a minute, I had set you up with a date with that personal trainer from my gym." Megan looked questioningly at the young agent.

"Oh we went out alright. I offered a movie, but she wanted to do "something" more physical." Seeing Megan's shocked look he continued, "Little did I know that it meant rock wall climbing at a local club. Turns out she is overly competitive and so when I beat her time three times she got pissed and left me there."

"Sorry Colby, she seemed like she might be your type." Megan replied sheepishly.

"Worse thing was that she had offered to drive, so I had to take a cab home."

"At least you got some exercise out of the deal." Don chimed in. "On Saturday, Charlie and I took Dad to a Civil Engineering exhibit at the LA County History Museum."

"That sounds exciting." Megan took a sip of the coffee and reached for more creamer. "Are you sure you only used half of a cup? This tastes really thick."

"Scouts honor." Don held up his fingers. "Don't get me wrong, the museum was great," Don's tone became slightly sarcastic. "One can never get enough at looking at pictures and blueprints of bridges, buildings and roads." He shook his head, "However, there was a reason for all of this fun, one of the bridges Dad designed was part of the show."

Colby finished chewing, "Why do I think that Charlie enjoyed it more than you?"

"You kidding between the civil engineering exhibit and the Zuni Fetishes, I couldn't pry him out of the place. If it weren't for the fact that he had a "big" date with Amita we would probably still be there."

"Zuni Fetishes? Kinky." Colby snorted. "Never pictured Charlie as being interested in religious carvings."

"Seems the museum has almost 4,000 of them. Thankfully only 99 were displayed." Don refilled his cup. "Charlie is planning on making arrangements to go in privately and study the other 3,852."

"What about you David?" Megan smiled at her friend. "Exciting weekend?"

"Pretty low key in comparison to everyone else's stories." David sat his cup down. "Took Claudia out for supper."

"What! You actually took her out instead of you having her cook for you?" Colby teased.

"Hey, what can I say, she makes a mean pot roast. Besides, how many times have you tried to wrangle an invite to come for supper when she is cooking?" David shot back good-naturedly. "I took her to Little Door for supper."

"The Little Door, wow you sure go all out." Megan's voice was filled with awe that her friend would pick such a romantic spot.

"Well, when you ask a woman for her hand in marriage you don't go to Pizza Hut." David said smugly and waited for his words to sink in.

It was only a moment when everyone erupted; congratulations flew about the room.

Colby slapped his friend on the back, "Alright man, what made you decide on this weekend. I though you that talked about Christmas or the jumbotron at a Lakers game?"

"That kidnapping case last week made me decide that life is too short not to be with the one you love. When I had to take that guy in to identify his fiancée's body, I decided that the time was now."

"Congrats, so when is the wedding?" Megan asked.

"She wants October."

Colby smiled broadly, "Great, that gives us six months to plan your bachelor party."

"That's a frightening thought." Megan shuddered mockingly.

"No seriously," Colby defended. "It will be a bachelor party to end all bachelor parties. We will make it a night for David to remember."

Author's notes: Ok, so who thought it was David? I tried to be sneaky. So hit that little button and give me some feedback. Thanks.


	3. Chapter 3

Author's notes: Not a lot of excitement in this chapter, but one must build on somethings. Thanks to those of you reading and also a huge ego thank you to the ones that review. Fasten your seatbelts.

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The time between the engagement announcement and October had flown by quickly. David had never realized how much work planning a wedding entailed; Claudia had assigned him to a variety of planning tasks claiming it was "their" wedding. He liked to tease her by telling her that when she called it "their" wedding it meant that he would get to show up wearing a tux and smile accordingly. She would just laugh at him and remind him to remember to bring his wallet too. Being quiet honest it didn't really matter to him, if she wanted things a certain way. As far as he was concerned as long as they ended up man and wife, mission accomplished.

The sight of his co-worker coming around the corner of the cubical brought him back to the problem at hand. They had been working on a robbery case and had received the tip that had cracked the case open; translation, they had received a tip and Charlie was able to take random information and see the pattern in it. Setting up a stakeout, they had waited for the team of jewel thieves to hit again. Luckily, they did not disappoint and at approximately 7pm the thieves arrived at the next jewelry store Charlie had identified.

David smiled to himself at the memory of the dumbfounded crooks; perplexed as to the reason the FBI and local police were waiting for them. "Thank God for stupid and greedy perps." David thought. However, it did result in a mound of paperwork and that was his current concern.

Seeing the smile on his partner's face, Colby held up a file folder. "Did you get the rest of the eye witnesses statements typed up?"

"Typed, saved, sent to central processing, plus a copy for the hard copy file. How about the lab results on the partial fingerprints from the second jewelry store?"

"Already in my file. As far as I'm concerned, the paperwork is 100 complete and might I add, not a moment too soon. If we hadn't caught that break I'm betting we would have had to postpone the bachelor party." Colby looked relived.

"It's not like I haven't been out on the town before, we could have skipped it." David had been a little worried over the fact that Colby had not told him of any of the plans. Colby had given his friend a list of clothes to pack and was told to be ready on Thursday evening.

"David, I promised you a bachelor party to end all bachelor parties and a bachelor party you shall have."

"I know. I'm going to go get some coffee; it's been a tough week. Truth be told, I'll be looking forward to a break from the bad guys."

Exiting his office, Don approached the men. "Got that report done?"

"All finished boss, Colby's got it there. I'll be right back."

They waited until David had entered the break room before they spoke. "So everything is ready for us to fly out tonight?" Don asked his young agent.

"It's a go. We need to be at the hanger by 8pm. By the time we to get Vegas the night will still be young."

"He still doesn't know where we are going?" When Don and Colby had started planning the party they had decided to keep the details a secret from David.

"Nope. His brother and cousins are flying into Vegas earlier than we are. I told them that we would meet them at the hotel.

"Sounds great. I'm going to take off here soon and pick up Charlie."

"Your dad hasn't changed his mind and decided to take us up on the offer to go too?" Colby placed the file in a package and sealed it up.

"No, he said that it's a young man's activity."

"Well, maybe we can get him to go to yours." Colby handed Don the package.

"Don't be planning on that too soon. The way my luck with women has been lately, I might start hanging out with Larry at the monastery." Don turned and walked back to his office before Colby could retort.

David had returned to his desk with a cup of coffee. "So are you still picking me up at six?"

"Yes, make sure you have your bag packed." Colby sat down in his chair and started clearing the top of his desk.

"Yes mother. I followed the list you gave me. Unfortunately the only things I've been able to cross of the list of potential activities were skiing, camping and mountain climbing." David turned the light off above his desk.

"Good. Let me just repeat what I've told you before. You are going to have the time of your life. It will be a weekend to remember."

"Claudia wants to remind you what will happen to you if this weekend includes any hookers, strippers or women of loose morals."

"I told her to trust me. In our line of work we see enough of what really happens in that industry and we wouldn't dream of contributing to it. Now women of loose morals, hmmmm, I hadn't thought about that. How about we steer them away from you and towards me?" Colby laughed as he stood up.

Several hours later, Colby had shower, changed and grabbed his packed bag. Jumping into his car, he swung by David's apartment and picked up his friend.

David tossed his bag into the bag and took his seat. Pulling on his seatbelt he turned to Colby, "so now do I get to know where we are going?"

"Sorry, not until we get there." Pulling out of the parking spot and heading to the freeway, Colby breathed a sigh of relief, everything was going according to plan and it looked like they would be having a weekend that they would never forget.

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Don and Charlie had left the house with plenty of time to arrive at the airfield. Smiling to himself, Don thought, "Like you could ever plan to arrive late when your numbers obsessed brother is planning the route." He took the turn off to the private hanger that the FBI maintained for their small fleet of planes.

"So Don," the curly haired professor asked. "How did you and Colby arrange for this private flight? When you first started talking about the party we were going to be flying commercial."

"The plane is going to Vegas to pick up a witness who is set to testify in a government case. Colby got wind of it and he managed to pull some strings to get us on the empty flight."

"What kind of strings?"

"I think it might involve a date with the scheduling secretary. She ended up pushing the flight back several hours so that we wouldn't have to take the full day off." Don parked the car and they both grabbed their bags.

They walked up to the hanger and were met by the pilot. "Are you Granger?"

"I'm Agent Don Eppes and this is Professor Eppes." Don reached his hand out and shook, Charlie following suit.

"I'm Agent Price, your pilot, co-pilot and I guess, your stewardess."

" Agent Granger should be coming in a moment. He has the groom with him, it's still a secret as to where we are going."

"No problem. If you want to stow away your bags I'm going to start my preflight checks. Hey," the pilot notice another car approaching. "Would this be the rest?"

"That's Agent Granger car, so he'll have Agent Sinclair with him." Don replied.

Colby and David pulled up and got out. They both approached the group and introductions were quickly made. Getting on the small jet, everyone started to make themselves comfortable. The plane had been retrofitted to replace the standard seats with couches and other comfortable seats.

"So Agent Price, I don't suppose you would care to let the groom in on the flight plan?"

"Sorry, but Agent Granger threatened to shoot me if I divulged the top secret location." Smiling the pilot made his way to the cockpit.

It was a short time later that they were in the air. Spending the time reminiscing about past "female" exploits, the four men didn't realize how quickly the time has passed until the pilot called back.

"This is your pilot speaking, as you look out the windows to your left you will see your weekend destination. We should be landing in about five minutes, so if you will seatbelt yourself in, we will prepare for landing."

David turned to look out the window, looking forward to finding out where he was headed. A long strip of bright lights and neon marked the bright lights of the city even visible from their position. "Las Vegas! Alright!"

Colby smiled at his friend's excitement, "What better place for a bachelor party than Sin City."

Looking around at his friends, David smiled. "This is great. So, Charlie do you have any numerical advice for us?"

"It just so happens that I had read a study by the University of Las Vegas on the gaming industry. The best statistics you will find in terms of winning percentages are from playing Caribbean Stud poker. The percentage is a whopping 28." The young man was in his element with numbers.

"28 isn't so hot." Don replied to his brother.

"Beats the heck out of the slot machines that you will only win 6 of the time. I for one plan on playing a little Keno that shows returns at 27."

Colby shook his head, "That's the problem with Las Vegas, the odds are always against you."

As the plane's wheels hit the tarmac, none of the men realized just how true those words would turn out to be.

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"Did you blow through that money already?" He was angry.

"Hey," the other voice was petulant. "It's been quiet a while and besides you can use the money just as much as I can."

Wearily he replied. "Alright, but I'm worried that someone is going to end up getting hurt."

"Just as long as it isn't us. I'll call you tonight and we can plan for Friday."


	4. Chapter 4

Author's notes: Sorry for the delay. Here it is. Hope it was worth the wait.

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True to Colby's word, Vegas was just gearing up for the evening. They caught a hotel shuttle at the airport and along with several other travelers, headed for the hotel. When they pulled up outside of the Luxor, David whistled low, "Damn, how much money are you guys blowing on my party."

Colby laughed, "Haven't you realized you travel with friends that are well connected?"

Don chimed in, "Believe it or not, this is my little brother's contribution to the weekend."

"Charlie," David admonished. "You are not paying for rooms here."

"I am, but before you get mad at me you should know that I did some consulting work for their casino. So, when I called about seeing if they could get me a good rate they made me an offer I couldn't refuse."

"Consultant work for casinos? Charlie, you never cease to amaze me." David shook his head in disbelief.

Exiting the van and grabbing their luggage, the men went into the lobby. "You know, it's not like I'm a hick from the country, but damn this is impressive." Colby intoned as they waited for the keys to their room.

The attractive young lady behind the desk smiled at the gentlemen. "Alright, here are your keys. If you would like we can have your bags sent up to the room."

"Why not. Hey guys, should we go grab a quick drink before we hit the town?" Colby ask expectantly.

"Sounds good." Don agreed. "Lets go to one of the bars here in the hotel."

Walking into Flight, one of the numerous bars in the hotel, the group was immediately rushed by five men.

"David!"

"Cuz!"

"What!" A shocked David looked at the faces surrounding him. He pulled one of the men into a tight embrace. "Matt. I can't believe you're here."

The bigger man pulled out of the hug and looked at David, "Do you think I would let my big brother celebrate his upcoming wedding without me here? Colby called me months ago and filled me in on the plans."

"I just can't believe it. Guys, let me introduce everyone. This hulk is my baby brother Matt. The thug with the goatee is my cousin Marcus. Next is my cousin Lucas, he is a stockbroker. Last but not least, LaVarn is another cousin." David then introduced his friends.

After everyone had shook hands and said hello, the men decided to head down the strip. Grabbing a drink at one of the small bars that dotted the landscape, they decided to board the trolley and head down to Fremont Street.

"It never ceases to amaze me that you can walk down the street with a beer in your hand in Las Vegas." David took a sip of his cold beer.

"Hey, check out that new casino going up." Don was looking out the window. "Isn't that where the Frontier was?"

"They demolished it in 2007. A lot of the older casinos are being replaced by the mega resorts." Charlie sounded a little sad. "It seems that the history of what Vegas was is disappearing quick."

"The Frontier had the best margaritas. A bunch of us came here on leave once." Colby smiled at the memory.

"The folks brought us here once when we were younger," Don added. "Charlie was probably four. I remember we stayed at Circus Circus and I got to ride a baby elephant. Good thing PETA wasn't around then.

"Things were different back then, that's for sure." David's cousin Lucas agreed.

"Hey, if you old guys are done reminiscing, let's go." Marcus motioned ahead to the next stop. "Freemont Street Experience and lots of alcohol await."

"Hell yes! Lets go." Both LaVarn and Lucas stood and did a fist bump. "Watch out ladies, cause the boys are in town!"

Walking down the street the men took in the sights and sounds of the old section of Vegas. The neon lights and the overhead light show were impressive and the number of tourists standing in the streets made for a slow journey. They had decided that they would spend several hours there and then go back to the hotel to party a littler closer to "home".

They went into one of the many small casinos that lined the street and the greeters at the door promptly gave each man a string of beads. Several of the men laughed and pulled up their shirts, exposing their abdomens.

Charlie looked perplexed as he fingered the shiny gold beads. Turning to Don, he spoke in a lowered voice. "What's the deal with these?"

"It's a Mardi Gras tradition. I guess it's caught on here in Vegas too." Don smiled at his brother, realizing that he didn't know about the more traditional method of getting beads. "Normally a guy will give a girl his beads if she flashes him a look at her breasts."

"You're kidding!" Charlie was incredulous. "They just show anyone?"

"Chuck, you can not be that naïve." Don shook his head. "Look around, everyone here is drinking and as they say, "What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas." so if someone acts out of character no one will know back home in Des Moines." Don nodded at Colby, who was holding a bottle of beer out to him. "Thanks Colby."

"Charlie, beer?" Colby had a second beer in his hands.

"I'm good right now thanks." Charlie held up his hands. He had never been much for losing control with alcohol. Being so young in high school and in college, he was never invited to those types of parties.

"Loosen up Chuck." Don admonished his younger brother. "You don't have to get trashed and you don't need to worry about driving."

"All right." Charlie smiled. "After all, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas."

"That's the spirit." Colby handed off the beer and turned back to the bar to pick up his own beer. "Come on, let's catch up with the others."

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The next several hours passed quickly and the men waited for the trolley that would transport them back up the strip. The trip back to the Luxor was filled with stories and boasting by the men. The favorite target was the guest of honor. At the last establishment, David had to untangle himself from a young lady who was bound and determined to give him something to remember. After removing her roaming hands again from his zipper, the other men had rescued the hapless groom and had hustled him out to the street.

Turning in his seat, Matt smiled at his older brother. "David," Matt tried to look serious. "That was one fine woman, I can't believe you turned her down."

Charlie, who had now had several drinks and was feeling quiet buzzed, chimed in. "She was gorgeous. I can't get over how many beautiful women we have seen." He took another sip of his beer and responded jokingly, "Are they having a convention?"

"There are enough plastic and silicon in most of these women that if you took it out you could make a million Barbie dolls." David commented. "Besides Charlie, I'm pretty sure that the young lady was a working girl. She might have given a taste for free, but anything more would have come with a price tag attached."

The trolley stopped at the entrance to Luxor and the men piled out. "Lets hit LAX." Marcus suggested. "I want to see if David still has the moves."

Laughing, they headed towards the club. Waiting in the line, Charlie grew impatient. "Come on Don, let's go hit the tables."

"Are you sure Charlie? You've been drinking." Don waited for his brother's voice of reason to kick in.

"Are you saying that I wouldn't be able to hold my own?" Charlie felt a little miffed and it showed in the tone of his voice.

"No, I'm just trying to make sure that you realize that you might not be at the top of you game."

"I'll be fine."

"All right," Don turned to the others. "We are going to hit the tables so we'll catch up with you later."

"Careful Charlie." Colby teased. "Wouldn't want you to run afoul of any of the mafia types. You win too much money and the next thing you know they have you in the desert putting a bullet into your hands."

"Why do you think I'm taking Don with me, it helps to have your own personal FBI agent as a brother." Charlie broke out of the line and Don followed as they both headed towards the game tables.

The line moved quickly, it seemed that very few A-list celebrities were in attendance that evening; so mere mortals were being ushered in at a faster rate than normal. Once inside they grabbed drinks and started to scope out the dance floor.

Both Marcus and LaVarn quickly hooked up with several single ladies to dance with, making sure to tell the remaining women at the table that it was David's bachelor party. They all looked over at him and smiled. Several got up and came over and offered to take him out to dance. Taking no for an answer, they led the protesting David out to the floor and began dancing.

"You did a good job lining everything up." Matt spoke loudly so that Colby could hear him. "No lap dances or strippers though?" He sounded a little disappointed.

"I promised Claudia that there would be no monkey business." Colby took another drink; he was feeling pretty mellow. "Just be glad that men don't have to play those stupid games like the girls do at their parties."

"Amen to that." Matt lifted his bottle and clinked it with Colby's.

"I'm going to grab another beer, want one?" Colby inquired.

"I'm good." Matt acknowledged.

Threading his way past the crowds to get to the bar Colby found an empty spot at the rail and slid into it. Waiting for the bartender to get to him, Colby looked at the others positioned around the bar. At the corner stood a petite young woman, her long black hair and dark almond-shaped eyes flashed in Colby's direction. She lifted the martini glass to her red lips and gave him a quick smile before lowering her eyes demurely. She was wearing a red dress that was cut low and high in all of the right places.

"What can I get you?"

Turning back to the bartender, Colby pulled out his cash. "I'll go with a Bud and I'd also like to buy the lady at the end there a drink."

He watched as the bartender walked over to the Asian beauty and spoke with her. She looked up again and nodded at the bartender. Colby waited until he had his drink and then started over to her. She watched his approach and when he reached her, she turned and crossed her shapely legs.

"Thank you for the drink." She smiled.

"The least I could do for such a beautiful woman." Colby leaned against the bar near her. "I'm Colby."

"Michelle." She held out her hand, the nails painted the same red as her lips. "Come her often?"

"First time. I'm from LA. Friend's bachelor party."

"I didn't think you looked like a local."

"You?" Colby leaned closer so that they didn't need to talk as loud.

"I'm in my last year at UNLV." She took another sip of the neon colored martini and let her tongue play around the rim catching a stray drop.

Colby became suddenly aware of certain parts of his anatomy. She had shifted slightly on her chair and the feel of her leg against his hip was causing a variety of sensations.

"Let me buy you a drink." She caught his fingers playfully and caressed them with her own. "Rob," she called to the bartender. "A drink for my newest friend and another for me please."

Taking the drinks set on the bar top, she handed one of the shot glasses to Colby. "It's called Hot Sex. I think you'll like it." She picked up hers and smiled. "Here's to us."

Tossing back the drink, Colby noticed the burning sensation that often came with hard liqueur. It was hard to place the flavors and the slightly salty taste, but he didn't have much time to dwell on it.

"Would you like to dance?" She suddenly slid of the stool and grabbed at his hand, not necessarily waiting for a reply.

"Sure." Colby allowed himself to be led to the dance floor. The pulsing lights and pounding music seemed to drive Michelle's body as she stopped and began dancing. Never feeling totally comfortable on a dance floor unless it was a slow dance that didn't require much movement, Colby felt a little out of his league.

As if sensing his discomfort, Michelle turned and smiled at him and grabbed his hand. She wrapped herself up in his arms and guided his movements. The closeness of her small, firm body left his body feeling as if a hot fire had scorched it. Of greater concern however was his penis; it had started growing rock hard and was pressing firmly against his pants. Try as he might it seemed that he was not able to hid the fact that he was incredibly turned on by her. Several times she had ground herself into his leg while they were dancing and each time she smiled sweetly as if she hadn't noticed.

Several songs later Michelle pressed in close, "Lets sit one out. I'm thirsty."

Walking back towards the bar, Colby noticed that several of the guys were now sitting around the table that had previously held the group of women that had danced with David. The others were checking out Michelle, "probably wondering why they hadn't seen her first," thought Colby.

"Sit down, I'm going to hit the girls room and I'll pick up drinks on my way back. Rob doesn't charge me the full price." She ran her hand along his face, tracing his jaw line with a manicured nail. "Don't go away."

"I won't." Colby sat down, feeling somewhat light headed. "Damn," he told himself. "I must be drunker or hornier than I though." Looking at his companions, he smiled broadly. "Guys."

"Hell Granger. How did you get so lucky?" Matt whistled low. "She is fine."

"Puts to shame the woman I've been dancing with. A tourist from Nebraska; corn fed if you get my drift." Marcus joked.

"I guess I've just got the touch." Colby smirked as he felt his body relax slightly.

"Must be luck." David joked, "Because back home you wouldn't ever wind up with a girl like her. I tell you what, if it looks like you're going to get lucky I'll bunk down with Matt."

"I doubt that anything like that will happen." Colby shifted, trying to discreetly release some of the pressure on his lower extremity.

"If it does, I'll give you some privacy." David smiled. He knew that Colby had been unlucky in love lately and if the opportunity for a harmless hookup happened, he wasn't going to do anything to keep Colby from enjoying it. He noticed Michelle coming back. "Here comes the girl of your dreams."

Colby turned and watched as the young girl approached the table. He stood to give her his seat. She smiled and handed one of the drinks to Colby. Raising her eyebrow slightly she raised her drink. "Shall we toast?"

"To what?" Colby flirted.

"To tonight." She replied with a smile and downed her drink.

"Tonight." Colby followed suit, noticing that it was the same drink as before. He grimaced slightly. "Michelle, these are my friends."

Not waiting for individual introductions Michelle broke in. "Hi friends. Hope you don't mind, but I really need to get this guy back on the dance floor." She grabbed his hand and pulled him away.

Colby threw a look over his shoulder to the table; the others were giving him encouragement. "What the hell," he thought to himself. "It's not like I haven't hooked up before."

On the dance floor they resumed their dancing. It seemed to Colby that each touch and caress ignited a new flame of desire. If he was the flame, then Michelle was a moth. She would dart close to him and run her hands along his body and then spin away. Coming close again she pressed herself full against him, her breasts pushing into his chest, her thigh against his erection. Colby leaned over and captured her lips with his own. His arms wound around her, pressing her closer. The taste of her mouth was intoxicating, the scent of her filled his noise, and he needed more.

Breaking the kiss, she hungrily looked into his eyes. "I want you Colby."

Pulling her head to him, he again possessed her mouth. His right hand traveled down her back, cupping her firm backside. He moved his lips to her ear, his breath hot. "I want you too."

"Do you have a room?" She looked expectantly, her hands twined into his hair.

"Yes, come on."

They reluctantly pulled apart and made their way quickly off the dance floor and headed towards the exit.

"David looks like your boy is going to get lucky." Matt laughed. "Guess you're sleeping in our room."

"Lucky isn't the word for it." David slapped his brother on the back. "I'm hungry. You guys up for food?"

The others nodded and they left the nightclub to search for someplace to grab some food. Having been told by the front desk attendant that Perkins was just two blocks over, they decided to walk over and grab some eats.

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Meanwhile, the elevator ride to the 12th floor had lasted forever. The moment that they had stepped into the empty car, Michelle had been all over him. If it hadn't been for the people that got on at the 4th floor, Michelle would have had his pants down.

Now as they rode in silence with the others, Michelle pulled him down to her level and started whispering in his ear. The information and details that she was telling him about what she planned to do to him was enough to make a sailor blush. "Another floor and I'm was going to have to take her in front of everyone." Colby thought as he put his arm around her, his hand going to her breast and teasing at the nipple. He enjoyed the feel of it hardening between his fingers and the light moan that it elicited from her lips.

Finally the doors opened on twelve and they hurried from the car. Colby pulled the key card from his pocket and within seconds they were inside the room and pushing the door shut behind them.

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Downstairs, a man who had been setting at the bar for the last three hours checked his watch. Smiling, he indicated to the bartender to bring him another beer. It was going to be a good night.


	5. Chapter 5

Author's notes: Thanks to those of you that reviewed. Things are crazy here, getting ready for the State Fair and two birthday parties. I appreciate the reviews, please keep them coming. It really helps when you get the feedback.

It's now time for our CSIs to make their appearance. Enjoy.

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The bright sun was beginning to slide off to the west, the shadows lengthening. Nick had wheeled his pickup into the parking lot, glancing for a spot. Finding one next to a small car, he pulled in and shut off the truck. Before he could open his door, another vehicle pulled in next to him. Climbing out, Nick waited for his co-worker, Catherine Willows, to exit from her car.

"Good afternoon sunshine." Nick greeted her brightly. "Ready for another madcap day of solving crime?"

"You're sure in a good mood today for someone coming in to pull overtime."

"Nothing like a good 10 hours of sleep. I got home took a quick shower and hit the hay." Nick smiled broadly. "I take it that you are not so excited about the extra hours."

"I'll love the paycheck, but no, I'm not really up for extra time in the lab."

"Ah, but isn't it nice to be needed." Nick held open the door and allowed Catherine to pass through. "It's too bad that Ecklie's team can't solve their own crimes."

They walked past the break room and the glass windows of the labs on their way to the locker rooms. "Looks like we are the only two working extra." Catherine commented.

"It would be nice if Grissom would request a little overtime for someone to help us," Nick groused slightly. "With Sara being gone and no replacement for her yet, things are getting a little tight."

"You're right. Gil doesn't seem like he wants to make a decision there yet." Catherine stopped in front of the women's locker room. "I stopped by his place to talk with him and he just seemed so down."

"Oh, so that's back on is it." Nick rolled his eyes slightly.

"What's back on?" Catherine's eyes narrowed slightly.

"The Catherine that stands by waiting for Gil Grissom to wake up and see that she wants to be more than friends."

"Nick, you know we are just friends." Catherine was indignant.

"Don't play that game with me. How long have we worked together? Ever since I started here, you and Gil keep dancing around the fact that you both want each other."

"Right." She replied sarcastically. "He wanted me so much that he and Sara started dating and eventually living together. Boy, that sure is a crafty plan to get me to see how much he wants me."

"Hell, Sara has had a bad case of hero worship since she followed him here. The reason she took off was because she woke up and realized that she was back in the middle of a relationship she didn't want. Give yourself some credit Cath, you are an incredible woman and Gil Grissom will kick himself when he realizes what he has been missing." Nick put his hand on his friend's shoulder.

Catherine gave one last look at Nick, trying to be as convincing as possible. "There is nothing going on between Gil and myself." She turned and let Nick's hand fall from her shoulder as she entered the locker room.

Outside the door, Nick paused a moment and then shook his head as he walked over to the men's locker room, his inner voice speaking to his friend. _"Keep telling yourself that Cath and someday you might believe it."_

Several hours later Catherine looked up from blood splatter she was analyzing and noticed her friend and boss, Gil Grissom, entering the lab. Walking directly over to her, he gave her a puzzled smile. "I didn't know you were pulling overtime."

"Lindsay is getting her license soon and that means my insurance is going to go up."

"Have you decided what type of car you are going to get her?" Gil had always felt somewhat like a surrogate uncle to the girl.

"As far I'm concerned, a bus pass. However, I'm sure she and her grandmother have conspired to convince me she will need something sporty." Catherine smiled, she loved her daughter but she tried to rein in her own desire to give the young girl everything she wanted. "I suppose it's a good thing her father isn't around, Eddie would have her in a Corvette convertible."

"That's a father's job; spoiling their little girls." Gil returned the smile.

"Says the man with no children."

"Touché" Grissom looked at his watch. "Shift starts in 45minutes, do you want to catch a quick bite to eat?"

"Sounds good, let me secure this evidence and I'll be ready to go."

"Swing by my office when you are done." Gil exited the lab.

Putting the blood-splattered shirt back in the evidence bag, Catherine looked up and saw Nick looking her way. He gave her a look that she knew meant "I told you so". She turned and left the lab, not wanting to rehash the earlier conversation.

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The moment the hotel door closed, Michelle began pulling at Colby's shirt, undoing the buttons to expose his firm chest. Once exposed, she ran her hands over the warm flesh and bent to take one of his nipples into her mouth. The groan of pleasure that escaped from his lips indicated she was being successful with increasing his arousal.

Her hands went further and came to rest on his waistband, sliding her fingers towards the zipper. Suddenly Colby's hands came to her shoulders and he moved her physically away from him. She peered up at him in surprise. "Did I do something wrong?" She asked.

"Hell no," Colby voice was laced with passion. "Michelle, you are so beautiful and have been so much fun to be with tonight. But," he hesitated for just a moment. "I can't take advantage of you like this. It might be hard to believe, especially the way I've acted, but I don't like to treat a lady like just a warm body. I don't think a one-night stand is fair to you."

Michelle was taken aback. She had never had a man speak like this before. Usually when she was with a guy and things had gotten to this stage of the game, sex was a foregone conclusion.

Not knowing what to make of her silence, Colby continued. "I'm sorry if I've hurt you Michelle."

She smiled; this guy was so sweet. In several years she had never really thought of herself as being treated with this type of respect. However, there was an overriding need that she had to fulfill. "Colby, I really appreciate that. Please forgive me if I came on so strong. It's just that I really want to be with you and I won't think any less of you." She reached behind her back and slip the zipper down on her dress, the garment slipped to the floor leaving her standing there in just a thong. "I need you Colby."

Moving to him she took his hands and placed them on her breasts. Pushing slightly into him, she could feel his hesitation. "Please Colby."

He wasn't sure. A moment ago he had felt firm in his resolution not to do anything, but now with Michelle almost naked and offering herself to him he was torn. His head felt light; he must have drunk more than he had thought. He felt Michelle's hands moving his own, helping him to manipulate her breasts. The flames of passion that hadn't been extinguished flared not even with his chivalrous talk and now they raged within his body.

Removing her hands from Colby's, she was pleased to see that he no long seemed hesitant. As she traced her nails up and down his back she rubbed up against him. The firmness of the erection pressing against his pants made her smile, everything was good.

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By the time the graveyard shift started there had been several cases reported that required the crime lab's investigators. Gil Grissom looked at the three cases; a gas station robbery, a murder in a restaurant and dead body found behind the wheel of their car. He mentally assigned the cases and waited for his CSI's to assemble.

"Alright," he spoke firmly since Warrick and Nick were busy giving Greg a hard time about the bruising on his neck. "If you two are done delving into Greg's sex life."

Greg sputtered, "Honest, I got it while working on my car."

"Right Greggo, that's the oldest excuse in the book." Nick teased.

"Gentlemen, are we finished?" Gil looked over his glasses at them. Taking the slips of paper, he read them as he handed them out. "Warrick, you and Greg have a suspicious death at a restaurant over on Vera Cruz. Catherine and Nick, a gas station robbery out on Commercial. I'm heading over to a db at the Flamingo."

Each group grabbed their gear and headed out. In the parking lot Warrick Brown climbed behind the wheel of the vehicle. "Greg, you are going to need to come up with a better excuse for your hickeys."

The youngest CSI shook his head in denial. "Don't believe me, but I'm serious. I got this while working on my car."

The rest of the ride to the scene was filled with Greg's denials. Pulling up outside of a Chinese restaurant, the men got out and ducked beneath the yellow crime tape.

Greg spoke as they entered the backdoor, "I bet it was a robbery gone bad."

Warrick shook his head, "Don't jinx us Greg. When you think it will be simple and you say "it's going to be simple", it turns out to be something else. Spotting the older detective speaking to several uniformed officers Warrick called out. "Hey Brass. We got a body?"

"Body? Nope," the detective deadpanned. "They were having a sale, we've got three."

"Three?" Greg questioned. "Grissom mentioned only one."

"Initial sweep only found the one, further investigation resulted in finding the other two."

"So what we know?" Warrick asked.

"Restaurant had closed at 10 pm, boyfriend came to pick up his waitress girlfriend. Front door was locked. He tried her cell phone and got no answer, so he goes to the back and finds the back unlocked. Goes in and finds her dead. Calls us. We then find another body in the office, safe opened. Looks like a robbery gone bad."

"Thought so." He looked smugly at Warrick. "That accounts for two bodies." Greg piped in.

"I'm getting there. So they start to sweep the building and discover that there is a basement. In addition to take out boxes there is a body tied to a chair and it looks like he was tortured."

Warrick gave a sideways glance to Greg. "See what I mean? It's never that simple."

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They had finally made it to the bed; a trail of discarded clothing in their wake. The sounds of passion filled the room.

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It had taken a little longer for Catherine and Nick to arrive at the gas station because of its location on the edge of town. The trip out had been relatively quiet, Nick had mentioned Grissom again and Catherine had indicated that she was done talking about a non-existent relationship. The remainder of the time she had questioned herself about what she might be feeling.

As they pulled up, Nick spoke. "I'm sorry Cath, I shouldn't be poking my nose into you business. I just don't want to see you upset."

She smiled at him reassuringly, "Thanks Nick. I appreciate your concern, but there is nothing to worry about."

_"Right."_ Nick thought to himself as he parked the SUV.

They entered the gas station and spoke with the uniform that was questioning the clerk. Moving away from the young woman who was obviously upset, the officer spoke quietly to the two CSIs.

"Our clerk here doesn't remember much, she said there were two of them, and both were white and looked, to quote "normal looking".

Catherine shook her head, "Not a surprise, she looks scared out of her wits. I don't know why these gas stations insist on staying open late and having only one worker. They make it so easy for the crooks." She bent down and flipped open her kit. "I'll start finger printing the counter."

Scanning the front, Nick pointed towards a surveillance camera pointing towards the counter. "Looks like we're in luck. Let's hope it's real, has tape and was turned on."

At that moment the owner entered the building. Seeing him, the clerk ran over and gave him a huge hug. "Daddy, I'm so sorry!"

The older man held her tightly, "It's alright baby, it's alright." He looked up at the CSIs and police and spoke. "I'm Dan Bergen and I own this place. My daughter wanted extra hours, so I let her take the closing shift tonight. Normally I work it, we can't afford the extra workers."

"Sir," Nick began. "I see you have surveillance cameras, do they work."

"Hell yes. I got robbed two years ago and invested in the best camera I could afford. Come back to the office and I can give you the tape." The man looked at his daughter. "Your mom is coming. Will you be alright until she gets here?"

The girl nodded and the owner led them to the office. He rewound the tape and played it back. The images of two men, one displaying a gun appeared on the monitor.

Nick smiled to himself as the two men stood at the register, both of their faces clearly identifiable. "Excellent! Between this tape and the fingerprints both are leaving on the counter we should be able to make a case stick against both. We'll take the tape and get a copy made and turned it over to you." He spoke to the officer.

By the time they had collected the evidence and returned to the lab to get the tape copied and sent to the police, several hours had elapsed. Catherine walked into the lab were Nick was waiting with Hodges for results on the fingerprints. "Come on Nick, we've got a call."

"Strip club?" Nick joked making his voice seem hopeful.

"No, out on the Strip."

"Well, a guy can always hope."

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On their way to find food, David and the others had cut through the casino looking to see if they could find Don and Charlie. Finally locating the two men, they had convinced them to join them in a bite to eat.

Charlie had walked away from the table up slightly as he cashed in his chips. The men proclaimed that between him and Colby, both were luckier than the rest.

"Colby picked up a girl?" Charlie questioned.

"A real hottie," LaVarn commented.

"I'm going to bunk with Matt tonight." David filled in the Eppes brothers.

Having arrived at the restaurant, the thoughts turned to bacon and pancakes. It was over an hour later when the men left and started back to the hotel. Yawning, David looked at his watch. "So, what's on the agenda for tomorrow?"

"Sleeping in." Joked his brother Matt. "I hope you still don't snore like you did when we shared a room."

"I don't snore!" David claimed.

Riding the elevator up to the 12th floor, the men continued their good-natured joking. Reaching their block of rooms, Don pulled out his room key to open the door.

Charlie stepped back to give him more room and then stop, looking at the door next to his. "Hey, Colby's door is open." He motioned towards the door that was shut, but had missed the lock.

"Damn, he was so busy that he didn't even notice." David commented. Smiling, he turned to the others. "What do you think guys?"

"If you don't lock the door, you are bound to get visitors!" Matt replied. "He'll be cool with the interruption?"

Catching the drift of the conversation, Charlie looked concerned. "But what if, he's…" He trailed off slightly. "You know, occupied."

"Even better!" Joked David. "Ok, I'll push the door open and if the lights are off, Marcus you hit them. Now, on the count of three."

The men lined up behind David who pushed open the door quietly. The room was dark, the hall lights barely making a dent. "One, Two, Three!"

The lights went on and he heard someone say "Damn", and when his eye adjusted to the sudden light, Don noticed the body of a women sprawled on the floor, blood soaking the carpeting beneath her. Colby lay face down on the bed, he was naked and blood was visible on him..

David moved quickly to the woman's side to check her condition.

Moving to Colby, Don rolled him over looking for injuries. Relief flooded his body, as he was unable to find any wounds. "Colby!" He tried to rouse his friend.

"Don, she's dead." David moved to the bed.

"Colby," Don shook Colby. "Colby, wake up."

Mumbling groggily, Colby tried to open his eyes. "Don? What doing?"

"Colby! Colby what happened?" Don's voice was serious.

"Why?" The younger agent sounded a little more awake.

"Colby, there is a dead woman in your room."

"What?" Colby tried to sit, but was unsuccessful. "What happened?"

Don looked at his friend, blood staining Colby's hands. "That's what I want to know."


	6. Chapter 6

Author's notes: Sorry for the delay, hopefully I can get another chapter done by mid-week. Thanks for the reviews and to those of you tagging this for alert or favorite story.

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Don hadn't known what to make of the scene, Colby was naked and bloody; seemingly unhurt. The young lady that according to David had been heating up the dance floor with Colby, was laying face down in a pool of blood. David had checked for a pulse and had found nothing. He had asked Charlie and the others to wait in the hall and watch for the police.

While waiting for the Las Vegas Police Department to respond, both Don and David tried to keep Colby calm. Don also tried asking Colby about what had happened.

"I swear I don't know Don. We came up to the room and that's where things started getting a little hazy. I remember talking with her about if we should have sex and then the next thing I know we were in bed." He looked at the body and drew in a ragged breath. "I remember thinking how mind blowing the sex was and I don't really remember a whole lot more." Colby sounded apologetic.

"It's ok Colby. Just keep trying." David looked at his friend and tried to look and feel as confident as he sounded. "It will come to you."

Swiping his hand across his eyes, Don tried to push his tiredness into the back of his mind. Because, by the looks of it, his going to bed was a long time coming. Colby had recovered enough to sit up. He had slipped on a pair of shorts, but Don and David had made sure that he did not try to wipe off the blood clinging to his bare body.

"Don, looks like they are here." Charlie called in.

Don wasn't surprised with the speed that the police arrived on the scene. Calling 911 and telling them there had been a death and that he was FBI certainly got the locals moving faster.

"Thanks Charlie. Guys," he replied looking at his two agents. "I'll go visit with the locals and remember, don't let them convince you to admit to anything Colby."

The younger agent nodded his head, he was still somewhat out of it. It was a strange sight for Don because even when they would drink he had never seen Colby this drunk. Colby was also having a hard time with seeing the body of the young Asian woman lying face down on the floor. They had not covered her up due to the concern of contaminating any evidence.

Stepping into the hall, Don saw several uniformed officers and an older man in a business suit approaching. "Detective," though Don.

"Are you the one that called 911?" The suit asked.

"Yes, I'm Agent Don Eppes." He pulled his ID from his wallet and presented it to the man.

"I'm Detective Brass." He made no attempt to soften his hardened features. After all, Brass had seen enough men with power or a badge that had for one reason or another crossed the line into illegal behavior. If this Fed thought he could whip out his badge and make this all go away he had another thing coming to him. "So where's the body and the suspect?" He handed Don back the plastic card.

"One of my other agents is inside with Agent Granger and the young woman's body."

"Were these others with you tonight?" Brass inquired.

"Yes."

"Alright," Brass turned to the uniforms. "I want one of you standing at this door, no one in or out unless they are on official business. You other two, start taking their statements." He indicated to the men in the hall. "I trust that you can use one of their rooms to do the talking. CSI should be here soon."

The uniforms moved to follow Brass's directives and the detective turned back to Don. "So why don't you tell me quickly what you know."

"We were coming back from breakfast."

"By we, do you mean the suspect as well?" Brass had his book out and was taking notes.

"Agent Granger," Don emphasized agent, his voice steely. "Was not with us. We were going to our rooms and it was noticed that the door to Granger's room was ajar. We had all been having a good time and thought it would be funny to surprise him, so we snuck in and hit the lights. We went in, turned on the lights and this is what we found."

"You say you were having a good time, can I assume that meant alcohol?"

"Yes, we had been drinking."

"Even Agent Granger?" Brass's tone was slightly sarcastic as he used the word agent.

"Yes, Colby was drinking too."

"How about anything else? Any drugs?"

"What!" Don was angered. "We are federal agents!"

"And they never do anything wrong." Brass bit back.

"Hey look, if you got a problem with who we work for, I'm sorry. A friend of mine is sitting in there with a dead woman, I want answers as much as you do." Don came right back at him.

"So answer the question."

"No, to the best of my knowledge, no one had done any drugs."

"So you went in, found Granger and the body. What did he say?" Brass continued to question.

"We had to awaken him, he appeared to have passed out. When we were able to rouse him, he had no idea what was going on." Don realized how harsh the truth sounded.

"What was his reaction to the body?"

"Confusion. Like I said, he didn't know what was going on." Don watched the detective write.

"Well, lets go see the body and your agent." Brass pushed the door open and walked into the room.

Scanning quickly he saw two men, one sitting on the bed, covered with blood and the other was sitting in a side chair. Both looked up. Brass tried to scan for reactions, the suspect looked upset. Remorse was common after killing someone, Brass thought. The other looked defiant, obviously has a chip on his shoulder.

"Colby Granger?" Brass stepped towards the bed. "I'm Detective Brass and I'm going to ask you a few questions about what happened tonight."

"Sure." Colby's voice cracked somewhat. He was having a hard time not staring at the body of Michelle. He was in shock, the woman he had been intimate with was now lying dead on the floor and he had no idea how it happened.

"Gentlemen," Brass turned towards David and Don. "I'm going to ask that you leave the room while I speak with Mr. Granger."

"Not going to happen." David replied first. "We aren't going to let him sit here and be treated like a criminal." He still felt the sting of guilt from his actions surrounding Colby's undercover work with the Chinese. He had felt like crap when it came out that Colby was actually working for the United States government trying to uncover a traditor.

"I've got a uniform standing right outside the door that would love to arrest a couple of feds for interfering with an official act, so take you choice." Brass was firm.

"Hey guys. Don't." Colby had raised his head and was addressing his friends. "Go, I'll be alright."

"He's got the right to legal representation if you are going to question him." Don was not about to abandon his friend.

"I'm not interrogating him, I just want some answers about what he remembers." Brass turned to Don.

"I'll make a deal. I'll stay and I won't say a word. However, if you start crossing the line, he's done."

"Fine." Brass's reply was clipped. He turned to Colby and began. "Tell me about this girl."

Brass's questions had started out routine, asking about the trip and what had happened earlier. Soon, the questions turned towards asking about Colby's personal life and what had happened in the room. As the questions progressed Colby's composure started wearing thin; he was tired and still feeling the effects of the alcohol he had consumed.

The sound of the door opening and voices from the hall alerted them to the arrival of the CSI's. The three men all turned towards the door and watched as Nick and Catherine entered the room.

"Catherine. Nick." Brass greeted them by name. "We've got a dead body and the guy who was with her to process. I'm going to go see if any of the uniforms have gotten anything." With that he left the room.

"Hi, I'm Catherine Willows from the crime lab and this is Nick Stokes. I'm going to need some photos." She looked at Colby, who weakly acknowledged her.

"I'm Special Agent Don Eppes, FBI and this is Agent Colby Granger." Don hurriedly introduced himself. "I don't think that Detective Brass took the time to introduce us." Don addressing the issue of the slight by Brass continued. "We are more than willing to cooperate fully."

"Good. Nick, do you want to start with the body?" Catherine turned towards her partner.

"Her name was Michelle." Colby spoke up, somewhat harshly. "Everyone keeps referring to her as the body."

"I'm sorry." Catherine's tone was sincere. "Would you mind if I took some pictures of you?"

"Whatever." Colby's tone was again mild.

Nick had opened his case and had started snapping photos of the women. Bending down, he placed evidence markers near smaller pools of blood and snapped a shot.

Catherine on the other hand had taken pictures of Colby while he was seated on the bed. Her face was a mask of concentration as she tried to document all of the bloodstains on his upper body. "Agent Granger. I'm going to need you to stand up so I can get some additional photos."

"Sure." Colby stood slowly and suddenly a wave of dizziness hit him. He faltered; Don and Catherine both stepping forward to help steady the man and lower him back to sitting on the bed.

"Colby are you feeling alright?" Don asked, concern lacing his voice.

"Real dizzy. I feel like sh," he paused, remembering that there was a women in the room. "I feel like crap."

"How much did you have to drink tonight Agent Granger?" Catherine inquired.

"I don't know, some beer and some shots that Michelle bought me. Not enough to make me feel like this though."

"What kind of shots?" Don asked.

"I'm not really sure. It didn't taste that great, a little salty maybe. She didn't mention it by name." Colby's brow furrowed as he thought.

Catherine sat her camera back in the case. "I think it might be a good idea if we got a blood test and see if we can see how much and what you drank."

Don looked at Catherine, "I'd like Colby to go to the hospital as soon as possible and get

checked out. They could do the blood test there."

"Let me check with Brass quick." Catherine turned.

"For what." Brass had returned and looked at the lead CSI.

"We need to get Agent Granger in and take some blood samples, plus have him checked over."

"Alright. I'll drive him in." Brass offered. "I have some additional questions to ask."

"I'll be going too then." Don looked at the detective sharply.

"Splendid." Brass's tone indicated that it was anything but.

"I need a few full body shots yet and take a few blood swabs, then you can go." Catherine interjected, hoping to defuse some of the tension.

With a little bit of help, Colby stood and quietly subjected himself to the pictures. A variety of emotions swirled about his head; humiliation, anger, confusion. When they were done, he sat down heavily again.

Catherine laid her camera back into the kit and grabbed some vials and began to take some scrapings of dried blood from Colby's arms and chest.

"My car is up front, so why don't we go right now." Brass was anxious to get going.

"Can I get dressed first?" Colby looked up at the detective.

"Sorry, but your clothing is part of a crime scene. Catherine, do you have a sheet in that kit?" Brass questioned.

"You're treating Colby like he's the killer." Don spoke angrily.

"Eppes, as far as I'm concerned he's the best suspect I have right now. She's killed in his room and he has her blood all over him. I might not be a federal agent, but the numbers all seem to add up. So you and your boy need to follow me to the car." Brass accepted the sheet from Catherine and waited for Colby to wrap himself in it.

As they exited the hotel and made their way to the car, one local news crew and several photographers swarmed them. Shouting questions and snapping pictures they pressed inward.

Don threw his arm around Colby and helped shield him. Not soon enough they were climbing into the car and Brass was pulling away.

Curling over, Colby cradled his head in his hands. Don glanced at his friend and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "One thing is for sure," thought Don. "Everything does seem to be adding up against him."


	7. Chapter 7

Author's notes: The next few chapters will be slow coming, so please don't forget me! I appreciate the reviews, keep them coming.

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With the departure of the others, Nick and Catherine got busy processing the remainder of the scene. Nick had photographed the body and the surroundings and was ready to turn the body. Grasping the hips and shoulders, Nick rolled the slight woman onto her back.

"I might not be a coroner, but I'm guessing that COD is extreme blood lost due to multiple stab wounds." Nick reached for an object that had been hidden by the body. "I'm also guessing that this knife is going to be the murder weapon."

Catherine walked over to Nick and peered over his shoulder. "Looks like at least seven different wounds. Someone was angry with her."

"Usually stabbing is a personal crime. Why would a casual hook-up result in stabbing?" Nick speculated. "You know Cath, there are plenty of things that don't seem to make sense in this case. Doesn't seem kind of convenient that a federal agent comes to town, a beautiful girl throws herself at him and then she ends up dead in her room. "

"Ok Oliver Stone, it must be a conspiracy." Catherine joked darkly. "Come on Nick. Granger is a good looking guy, he gets a girl, they have sex and then something happens and she winds up dead."

"I'm glad you didn't have this negative attitude when Kristy ended up dead. I'd be looking at life in prison." Nick's tone was tight.

"Hey, I know you Nick. For all we know this Granger could be a serial killer who uses his job to cover his murders."

"Oh, who's watching to much tv. That sounds like Dexter."

"What!? Nick Stokes watching something besides Animal Planet?" Catherine was working on bagging the victim's clothing.

"Hey, professional curiosity. The guy works in the crime lab." Having finished the photos, Nick had started bagging the hands of the victim; a precaution designed to protect any trace evidence. "Besides, it's like any other cop show. Everything happens too easy, wham bam they find the evidence and catch the killer in 47 minutes."

"Hey, we're that good. Look at tonight, we were in that gas station for less than a hour and we broke the case." Catherine stacked the evidence in a larger sack. Moving on, she began bagging the clothes of the suspect.

"I'll agree, with some crimes we get lucky but most of them take days or weeks." Nick stood and stretched the kinks out of his back. "When's the coroner's office going to get here for the body?"

"Must be busy tonight. Well, at least we know he believes in safe sex." Catherine held up a used condom.

"No love without a glove. Words to live by." Nick placed more bagged evidence into the sack.

"Always the philosopher, aren't you Nick." Gil Grissom remarked dryly as he walked into the room. "Are you almost done here?"

Catherine smiled at her boss, Nick's earlier teasing about relationships forgotten. "Not quiet. Are you here to help or rub it in?"

"No, I finished up on my case and thought I would stop by on my way to check on Warrick and Greg. Their db turned out to be a total of three vics."

"That answers your question on the coroner Nick." Catherine quipped.

"Do you need anything from me?" Gil looked at his crew.

"Not right now." Catherine inwardly cringed at the possible double message of her words.

"Nope, I think we're good boss." Nick was busy bagging the bed sheet.

"I'll see you later then." He looked at Catherine as he spoke. Holding her gaze for several seconds, Grissom then turned and left the room.

Nick shook his head as he looked at Catherine who was a little flushed. "Yeah, nothing going on with you two. Nothing at all."

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David had spoken with Don briefly on the phone after they had arrived at the hospital. Don had encouraged them to get some sleep because he would want David and possibly Charlie, to be fresh in the morning. From the looks of it, they were going to need to help because in Don's opinion, LVPD had already decided upon Colby's guilt.

After hanging up with Don, David had filled the others in on what was happening.

"I knew that girl was trouble." Marcus shook his head. "She had a shifty look to her."

"Didn't want to be with you is what you mean." LaVarn couldn't help but get in a dig.

"Anyway," David broke back in. "I'm going to have to cut the party short. Don wants Charlie and I ready to help tomorrow." He crossed to his brother and gave him a hug. "Thanks bro. Guys." He turned to his cousins. "I really appreciate you coming out. I'll see you all at the wedding right?"

"You couldn't keep us away." Lucas replied. The others all agreed and then quietly went back to their rooms.

David crossed to the room that he was to have shared with Colby and spoke with the officer still posted at the door. "I'd like to talk to the CSI's if possible."

"Hold on a minute, I'll check Agent Sinclair." The young patrol officer replied and stepped into the hotel room. Quickly he returned. "Yes, you can go in."

"Thanks." Said David as he walked into the room. "Hey. I was wondering about my luggage. Are you keeping it as evidence?" He pointed towards the bag sitting next to the desk.

Exchanging glances, Catherine and Nick both decided that the overnight bag could be released. Nick spoke up. "Sure man. Go head and take it."

Grabbing the bag, David took the opportunity to back his friend. "I know it looks bad, but Granger is a real stand up guy. He wouldn't do anything like this."

"You guys buddies?" Nick asked.

"Yeah, you spend as much time together on cases and you either become good friends or hate each others guts."

Nick nodded, he understood. He thought about the number of times he and Warrick had worked and played together. "I hear you there."

"Thanks. Let me know if I can do anything." David picked up his bag and left the room. As he walked down to his brother's room he noticed the coroner's office coming down the hall with a gurney. Stepping aside he watched as they entered the other room and with a tired sigh opened the door.

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Colby felt like he had been drug backwards through a knothole. Sitting on the hospital examination table he waited for the nurse to finish drawing his blood. Once she had left the room, he looked up at his boss. "You don't have to be here Don. I'm alright." He rubbed at his chest; the dried blood was becoming itchy.

"Colby, I'd do the same for any of my other friends so don't worry about it." He could see his friend's discomfort. "As soon as the doctor comes back in I'll see if there is some place where you can shower up."

"That detective thinks I did it."

"He's an idiot if he makes a judgment before he investigates. Everything right now is circumstantial. Being with the victim doesn't make you the killer."

Don held off on any other comments as the door opened. Brass walked in along with the examining doctor. The detective looked like he was put out over the delay in questioning Colby.

"Mr. Granger." The doctor began. "I've got the blood tests running and I'm going to let you go. I'll get back with you when the results are in."

"Is there somewhere he can take a shower and get a change of clothes?" Don inquired.

"What?" Brass's tone was less than pleased. "I've already wasted time waiting. I'd like to get down to the station and ask some more questions before the sunrises."

"A few more minutes isn't going to make a difference, especially since Colby is going in to talk to you voluntarily. Or do you want to charge him with something?" Don fired back.

Brass waved his hand. "Fine, go ahead."

"I can have a nurse show you where you can shower. We should be able to find a set of scrubs you can borrow." The doctor was sympathetic.

Within less than 15 minutes Colby was showered and changed, wearing a pair of loose fitting blue scrubs. The ride from the hospital to the police department was silent as all three men were lost in their own thoughts.

Brass pulled into a marked spot and showed the agents into the interrogation room. "I hope you don't mind," Brass inquired. "It's standard procedure for all questioning."

Colby glanced at Don and replied. "No problem."

Brass left the room to start the tape and Don and Colby settled themselves at the table. Don glanced at his watch and wasn't surprised to see that it was seven in the morning.

Brass led the young agent through many of the same questions that he had asked earlier. Where were you? Who saw you? What happened?

Colby calmly supplied the answers even though he felt that Brass was asking the same answers with the hope that Colby would slip._ "Can't screw up an answer when you are telling the truth,"_ Colby reflected.

Looking down at several sheets of paper, Brass shuffled through them. He then raised his gaze to let it fall on Colby. "I see that you were a member of Special Forces. That training is pretty intense isn't it? They teach you guys how to kill with your bare hands, so I'm sure you're deadly with a knife."

He went instantly on high alert. What in the hell did his Army training have to do with this? Colby took a deep breath and calmed himself, "Yes the training included using weapons and hand to hand combat. I'm sure that many people including myself are familiar with it."

"So you saw combat in Afghanistan? Have you ever been diagnosed with any post traumatic stress?"

"I was in the Kunar Province and saw combat, but I haven't had a problem with it." Colby's voice was tight.

"Look," Don inserted, his tone sharp. "Colby has been screened and cleared, if here that been a problem we would have noticed it."

"Sometimes it can take years." Brass continued. "I understand that you had a traumatic experience last year, have you noticed any flash back episodes?

"No."

"I see that after a friendly fire incident you went in for some counseling. So it's not like you're a stranger to mental health issues."

Colby slapped at the table and stood suddenly, "Damn it. That was a fuck up with intelligence. We did what we had to do. I'm not going to sit here and let you accuse me of this or anything else."

"Could you have snapped? Not realizing what you were doing? She make you angry?" Brass tried to push buttons.

Don stood up and leveled a dangerous look at Brass. "I think this interview is over."

"I still have some questions." Brass stood and leaned across the table. "If Granger refuses to answer I can hold him on obstruction."

"Try it." Don fired back.

"Don, I need a break." Colby was slightly shaky. The adrenaline and lack of sleep were affecting him.

"Good idea." Brass spoke. "Take 10 minutes and then we'll start again." He stood up and walked out of the room.

Colby sank into the chair slowly and lowered his head into his hands. "I'm sorry I lost it Don."

"Don't worry Colby. We'll finish up and get some sleep. Everything will be better tomorrow." He looked at his watch, almost eight. "Alright later today everything will be better."

"Can it get worse?"


	8. Chapter 8

Author's notes: Sorry about the delay, blame vacation and a hospitalized father. The next few chapters might have a lag in updating, I started back to work last week and I'm scrambling getting my classroom ready. A big thanks to everyone reading and reviewing. Here it is.

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Nick had finished with his job in the room and went into the bathroom to process any evidence he would find. Looking around the shower and the sink area, he couldn't see anything that looked promising. Pulling out the luminol, he sprayed the sink area and hit the black light. There, glowing under the light was evidence that there had been blood in and around the sink.

"Hey, Cat." Nick called out to the other room. "Grab your cameral and come in here please."

Stepping into the bathroom, Catherine inquired. "What do you have?"

"Blood in and around the sink. Could be someone tried to clean up."

Catherine snapped off several shots and then looked at her partner. "Anything else?"

"I didn't see anything. You?"

"No. I think we've got it all. Should we head back and see if anything else has come back before we call it a day?"

Nick smiled and looked at his watch. "Sounds good. I'm about ready to call it a night."

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Colby and Don walked out of the police department just after nine that morning. When Detective Brass had returned to the room, he had asked several additional questions and then had told the two men that they could go.

"I don't think I need to tell you to stay in town." Brass had looked at them with a steely glaze.

Indicating that they understood, Don had hustled Colby from the building and had called for a taxi. Now they headed back to the hotel.

Don looked over at his friend and noticed that Colby was nodding off as they rode along. The taxi hit a small bump and Colby jerked awake.

"Sorry. Can't seem to stay awake."

"Don't worry Colby. I'm ready to get some sleep too."

"I feel like I should stay awake and do something."

"Right now the important thing is to get some sleep. I'll have David get started on running down what ever leads we have."

"What leads? I don't know anything about Michelle." Colby's voice was tired.

"We'll find something and get to the bottom ot this. Don't worry Colby." Don's tone was convincing, even though he was very concerned about the lack of information to go by.

When they arrived at the hotel, both men hurried to the elevator. The press had left, but as they stood inside the elevator car, Don had noticed that the front page of the Las Vegas paper carried a picture of Colby and the headline "Police Question FBI Agent in Murder".

Don glanced over at Colby and was relieved to see that his attention was elsewhere. The elevator stopped and the man with the paper exited. Don mentally thanked God that Colby hadn't seen, although Don knew they would eventually have to deal with Colby's reaction to the paper.

Crime scene tape crossed the door to Colby's room aa the men walked to the next room. Don pulled out his room key and slid the card into the slot. A clicking and the green light indicated that the door was now unlocked. Opening the door, Don motioned for Colby to enter. "Take my bed."

Being too tired to argue, Colby pulled back the covers and lay down. As soon as his head hit the pillow he was out. Don stripped down to his boxers and climbed in beside Charlie.

"Don?" Charlie's voice was gravelly from sleep.

"Just getting back from the police station. Colby is with me. Lets get some sleep and then we will figure out what we're going to do."

" 'kay." Charlie rolled back over and was asleep again.

Don closed his own eyes and soon joined the other two.

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Having found that there was no new information waiting for them back at the crime lab, both Nick and Catherine had decided to clock out and go home. The case was not one that demanded that they stay and keep hammering at it. They could go home and get some sleep and come back at it later.

Lost in thought on the way home, Nick almost missed the driveway for his house. Chiding himself, he parked and headed into the house. Popping off the cap on a bottle of beer, he glanced at the paper's morning headline. "Slow news day if a murder makes above the fold.", he thought. Scanning the article, he could see that the paper was implying that this was a case of a casual hookup gone bad.

Grabbing a fast shower, he again started thinking about the case he had just been working on. The look of confussion that had been on Agent Granger's face had mirrored the same feelings that Nick had felt when he had pulled up outside of Kristy's house and had found out that she was dead.

Toweling off and then brushing his teeth, Nick finished in the bathroom and headed into his bedroom. The blackout shades keep the midmorning sun from coming in. Pulling back the bedspread, the lanky Texan lay down on the cool cotton sheets and closed his eyes. Soon sleep came and with them dreams.

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Catherine had been walking towards the door when Gil had caught up with her. "How's your case with the FBI agent going?"

"Found some trace in the bathroom and the murder weapon was located."

"Good. The paper has picked up on this case already. So, be prepared for some pressure from above to get it solved quickly." Gil held open the door for her. "Would you like to grab a bite to eat?"

"Sure." Catherine smiled. It's nothing she told herself, just two friends having a meal together.

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Brass was putting the finishing touches on is preliminary report. Unless the CSI's had something that would prove the innocence of Granger, it looked like an open and shut case. The information on Granger's past was enough to make the possibility of him snapping and killing the girl an easy assumption.

He frowned as he thought about Eppes. That guy was going to be a problem every step of the way. Feds always get hard to work with when they are protecting their own. If Granger was guilty, he sure the hell wasn't going to get away with it here.

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He had awakened feeling like he had run a marathon. The sheets were damp and twisted and the pillows were scattered on the floor. Looking at them he knew that he had been dreaming again. The funny thing was that he couldn't remember what he had been dreaming about.

Looking at the clock he decided that it was no use going back to sleep. Heading back into the bathroom and turning the shower on was always a cue for the phone to ring.

Listening to the answering machine pick up, the voice of Gil Grissom soon played through the house. "Sorry to bother you Nicky, but I need you to come in and get working on the murder from last night. We are getting the pressure from the district attorney's office." Nick had planned on coming in early, however he wasn't surprised that he had received a call.

"Looks like it's going to be a long day." Nick thought as he stepped into the steamy shower.

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The cell phone on his nightstand rang and his hand immediately closed around it to acknowledge the call. "Yeah, Sinclair here."

Several minutes later there was a muffled knock on the door. "Hey boss." David greeted Don. "How's Colby?"

"Sleeping. Charlie's in the shower and I wanted to talk to you quick before I go back to the police department. I want you to work with the CSI's if you can. Gil Grissom is the head of the night shift, so talk to him about it. I don't want them trying to railroad Colby."

"Any ideas about what happened?"

"None, I've been racking my brain about what could have happened."

"You guys have been planning this trip for several months, could someone gotten word about it and set Colby up?"

"For what purpose?"

"I don't want to point out the obvious, but the girl was Asian. Could the Chinese be trying to get back at him?"

"It's something to consider. Keep that in mind as you see what they find in their investigation." Don stood up and headed to the door. "Call me if you find anything."

"Sure thing."

Don headed back to the room and waited for his brother to finish in the shower. Several minutes later Charlie emerged from the bathroom toweling off his mop of hair.

"Charlie," Don wasted no time in bringing his brother up to speed. "I need you to get into Colby's computer and see if you can find out if anyone's been accessing it."

"No problem. I brought my laptop and I should be able to find out something for you. I'll see if there's a conference room available so I can spread out a little more."

"Thanks Charlie." Don moved to the bed where Colby was sleeping. "I've got to go to the police department, do you think you can stay here until he wakes up? I don't want him left alone or talk to anyone."

"No problem." Charlie pulled his computer out of it's case.

"One question, why did you bring a computer to a bachelor party?"

"I wanted to enter information on my gambling observations."

"I guess it's good for us."

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Lifting a bag containing the indistinguishable stomach contents of his patient, Doctor Robbins placed it on the scale. "1 pound and 2 ounces of partially digested food, including shrimp and rice." He lifted it off and set it to the side. Picking up his crutch, he made his way back to the autopsy table.

"Hey Doc. What's the story."

Robbins turned. "Good afternoon Nick." He turned back to the young woman on the table. Pointing at a wound on the woman's upper arm, "This is what killed her. The knife got her brachial artery and she bled out. There are also ten wounds on the upper body and defensive wounds on her hands. Some of them were deep and would have killed her in time, but hose were more of a stabbing injury, the artery was slashed."

"Could be that she threw up her arm to protect herself." Nick speculated. "Anything else of interest?"

"Blood came back with alcohol and cocaine."

Nick looked at the information that he had received earlier from the police. "What time did you place time of death at?"

"Sometime between 3 and 4 a.m."

"So, they drink, have sex and then he stabs her to death. Doesn't seem to make sense."

"Nick, when has murder ever made sense?" Robbins turned back to the table. "Whoever killed this young woman had considerable strength, at least one of her ribs were snapped by the force of the knife."

"Thanks Doc." Nick left autopsy and headed for the lab. He wasn't surprised to see Catherine already at work.

"What are you working on?"

"I've just started running his blood samples and I was going to start looking at the blood splatter photos." Catherine had pulled out the copies of the pictures she had taken.

"I just spoke with Doc Robbins. The brachial artery was slashed. I'm thinking that the killer might have slashed at her and got it accidentally, not that the other wounds were accidental."

"It was an accident officer, I was cleaning my knife and it went off."

"Why Catherine, you made a joke!" Nick teased. "What did you do after we got off that put you in such a good mood?"

"None of your business." She stopped talking as Gil and another man made their way towards the pair.

"Catherine, Nick." Gil paused a moment. "I don't know if you met already or not, but this is Agent David Sinclair. He's a member of Agent Eppes team and would like to offer any help he can provide with the investigation." He stressed the word investigation. "I told him he could help but would not be allowed to handle any evidence personally."

Nick smiled and reached out his hand. "We met this morning. How's your friend doing?"

David's face was serious as he thought about Colby. "Still sleeping when I left. Have you found anything?"

A beeping machine caused Catherine to turn and move to look at the readout. "It looks like we might have a break."


	9. Chapter 9

Author's notes: As I write this chapter I worry that I've had the CSI doing more than what they realistically be responsible for. However, on various episodes they seem to do more investigating the clues then the police do, so I'm going with it. I'm also sorry about the slow down in chapter postings. I hope to speed up, but work is zapping me when it comes to creating anything.

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Don had left the hotel; the bright light from the mid-day sun blinded him momentarily. The first stop was to go to the local FBI office and use their resources to help in the investigation.

Hailing a taxi Don sat back and let his eyes close. He was going to have to call back to Los Angeles and give an update to the director. Earlier this morning he had called and informed them what was going on. He didn't want his boss finding out by watching the morning news, that is if it made the news. After seeing the reporters outside the hotel when Colby was taken out Don couldn't be too sure.

His mind replayed the conversation he had earlier that day. To say the director was angry was an understatement. Don had to promise that this was not going to give the FBI a black eye. "I hope I know what I'm doing." He thought silently.

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Charlie had been searching for a while, it was overwhelming the amount of contacts that Colby had had in the last several months. Glancing at his watch he was surprised that it was past noon already. Opening his cell phone, he placed a call to Amita.

"Charlie! What a surprise. I didn't think that I'd hear anything from you until you came back on Sunday. Are you missing me terribly?"

"I'm afraid we've run into a little trouble here." Charlie quickly filled her in with the details of what had happened. "I think I'm going to need a little more computing power than what I've got on my lap top. I think if we were to run a program to filter out the legitimate contacts and see what is left we might be able to narrow it down. We will also want to check Don's account as well because he and Colby were doing the planning."

"So you're going back three months?"

"Lets go back at least four, Colby has been planning this since David and Claudia announced their engagement."

"I'll give you a call as soon as I have something." Amita promised. "Bye."

"Bye. Thank you."

Charlie turned back to his computer and noticed that Colby was starting to stir. Sitting quietly, Charlie waited to see if he would go back to sleep or not.

Swinging his legs out of bed, Colby sat up slowly. Looking around as if to orientate himself he saw Charlie sitting at the table. "Hey. Are you the designated babysitter?" His voice was rough with sleep.

"Babysitter?"

"Yeah, don't leave Colby by himself. He'll do something dumb." Colby's tone was slightly bitter.

"Actually, Don wanted to let you keep sleeping and I needed to get started running down leads." Charlie tried to make it sound plausible to his own ears but gauging by the reaction he failed. He watched as Colby stood and headed towards the bathroom.

"I'm going to take a leak. Do you need to monitor that too?" The door was pulled shut more firmly than needed.

"Well that certainly went well," Charlie told him self. "Not."

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Warrick picked up a photo and looked at it closely. Placing it back on the table he shook his head in disgust. He and Greg had worked late on processing the scene at the Chinese restaurant; even with Grissom's help they had worked past their normal shift.

After heading home and catching some sleep, he was once again at work. Rubbing his eyes, he picked up another shot of the crime scene. The three victims were confusing, two appeared to be the victim of a robbery gone bad and the other one had definitely been tortured. Had the man tied up in the basement been beaten to divulge the safe combination and if so, what was of such value to cause someone to torture another human?

His nose alerted him before his fellow CSI even said a word. "I'm hoping you have cup of coffee for me Greg."

"How could I ever disappoint you?" The younger man handed a mug to his co-worker. "Anything yet?"

"The autopsies are back, but nothing that we didn't already know this morning. Vic number three died from severe head trauma. The other two were shot.

"Did the detective have any information for us?"

Shaking his head, Warrick took a sip of the coffee and savored the flavor. "Talked to some of the relatives and no one knew anything. The boyfriend of the waitress said that she was always worried about some rumors that she had heard. According to him, the place was a front for drug running."

"I think that's a rumor about every Chinese restaurant."

"Probably, but I think that we need some place to start and that is a good a place as any."

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Catherine was holding a print out and had quickly scanned the information it held. "It looks like we've got some place to start."

"What have we got Catherine?" Nick questioned.

"It looks like Agent Granger had a significant amount of GHB in his blood sample."

"All right!" David exclaimed. "This shows that he didn't do it, someone drugged him."

"Wait just a minute Agent Sinclair." Catherine interjected. "GHB can also be used recreationally. Just because he has it in his blood doesn't clear him of any wrong doing."

"It does give reasonable doubt." He fired back.

Nick saw the need to intervene, "I think that maybe we need to pay the bartender that was serving Agent Granger a visit. He might be able to tell us something about our mystery girl."

"You haven't been able to find out who she was yet?" David hadn't given the dead woman much though and now he felt badly for forgetting that there was another victim in this case.

"Not yet," Catherine set the report on the table and slipped off her lab coat. "The purse that was found in the room didn't have anything in it that could lead to her identification, just lipstick and some condoms. We've run prints and photo recognition software, but nothing yet. We're waiting on DNA and then we'll run that through and see if we find a match."

With the addition of David, Nick and Catherine headed to the Luxor to talk to the bartender that had been working that evening. The club wasn't very busy since it had just opened and the trio walked up to the bar.

"Hello. What can I get for you?" The bartender inquired.

Pulling out his badge, Nick took the lead. "Just some questions answered would be helpful."

"Sure officer."

Not bothering to correct the man Nick continued. "I need to know what bartenders were working last night."

"No problem, that would be Mark, Jeff, Alexia, Gage and myself."

"Any of them working tonight?"

"All of us are on again tonight. I think Mark and Alexia are in already but I haven't seen the others yet."

Catherine pulled out a photo of Michelle. The woman in the photo looked like she could be sleeping, but the others knew the truth. "Do you recognize this woman?" She held out the picture and watched the reaction of the bartender.

"Yes, I've seen her in here every now and then. Usually she is down in Jeff's section. I don't know what her name it, but she seems to know him."

"Can you give us a little more information about Jeff? Last name, address, whatever you've got?" Catherine smiled at him.

"Sure. Anything I know I'll tell you."

"Good. Nick, I see there are surveillance cameras in here. Do you and Agent Sinclair want to go and see if you can find anything on them?"

"Thank god for big brother." Nick intoned as the two men headed to find hotel security.

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Charlie had been working for several hours on sifting through information from Colby's computer and other FBI links. He made sure that every so often he would look at the sleeping form on the bed. Charlie reflected back on the events of earlier that afternoon.

After leaving the bathroom Colby had returned to the bed and lay back down. Within ten minutes he had fallen asleep. It had been another ten or fifteen minutes when the nightmare hit.

Hearing the mumbling voice of his friend, Charlie looked up from the screen on his laptop. The young agent had started thrashing about in the bed, his arm flinging out and knocking the clock radio from the nightstand.

Moving to the bed, Charlie put out his hand in an effort to awaken the sleeping man. In the blink of eye Charlie was pinned on the floor and Colby was on top of him; an arm around Charlie's throat.

Laying still, but calling out Colby's name, Charlie tried to be as passive as he could. He hoped that by not fighting back Colby would release his hold.

The sound of Charlie's voice penetrated the fog in Colby's brain and suddenly he realized that he was out of bed and had his friend in a chokehold. "Charlie!" He rolled off and moved to his feet as quickly as he could. Reaching down he helped the mathematician to his feet. "Fuck, I'm sorry Charlie. I'm so sorry."

Waving off Colby's concern, Charlie moved to the sink and with shaking hands filled a glass of water. Taking a drink, the cool water helped with the burning feeling in his throat. Charlie took a deep breath and tried to calm his racing heart. He sat the glass down on the counter and turned to look at Colby.

Colby had sunk down onto the bed, his head in his hands. His voice was muffled as he spoke to Charlie. "I was dreaming. I was back in Afghanistan and hostile forces were overrunning us. My gun jammed and one of the rebels jumped me. I haven't dreamed about that shit in forever."

"Hey, it's alright. No harm done. I should have known better than to touch you when I tried to wake you. I've read about things like that."

"Charlie, don't you realize. If I attacked you, I could have hurt Michelle."

He didn't know what to say. They sat there in silence for several minutes, Charlie trying to decide on how to proceed. Luckily, Colby made the decision for them. "I'm going to go back to sleep." He pulled the blanket up to cover his torso. "Stay away from me Charlie, whatever happens just stay away."

Now hours later, Charlie looked back down at his work, relieved that the young blonde was still sleeping. The phone next to him started to ring and quieting it he looked down at the number he could see that it was Amita.

Stepping into the bathroom, Charlie flipped the phone. "Amita, I hope you have something for me."

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Greg hurried from the DNA lab looking for Warrick. Finding the man in the break room refilling his coffee cup. "I've got some results and as Alice said, "Curiouser and Curiouser"

"Great you're quoting a kids book."

"Nope, Disney movie. Anyway, would you believe we got a DNA hit on that robbery homicide from last night." Greg smiled.

"And?" Warrick was use to Greg's sense of drama.

"The Chinese man tied to the chair and tortured matched with the victim that Catherine and Nick brought last night. Enough in common that it appears that he was her father."


	10. Chapter 10

Author's notes: Sorry, it was a terrible time for my ambition to decide to take a vacation. I think that I had used up my entire creativity reservoir and it just needed time to recharge. Any way, here is the next chapter. Another will be coming soon.

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Warrick sat back and digested what Greg had just told him. "Two victims that are related to each other and two different crime scenes. So, is there a connection or is it just coincidence?"

"That is the 64,000 dollar questions isn't it."

"Have you talked with Nick about his vic?"

Greg nodded, "Yes, but they don't know much at this point. They still don't know the girl's name. I think they are hoping that we can fill in that hole for them."

"Well, lets go run down the employees from the restaurant and see if they can identify them." Warrick walked over to the sink and dumped his remaining coffee down the drain. Rinsing out the cup, he turned it upside down in the rack on the counter. "I'll grab a photo of our vic, you go run down an autopsy photo of the girl."

"I'll met you in the parking lot. I'll drive."

"Think again Greggo." Warrick smiled and headed down the hall to retrieve the photo.

"Why does everyone think I'm a bad driver?" Greg's tone was slightly whiney.

"It's not we think you're a bad driver. We know you're a bad driver."

"One little accident and everyone is a critic." He groused.

"You backed into a squad car and pushed it into Ecklie's personal vehicle." Warrick had to bite back a laugh, thinking about the day supervisor's rage.

"He was doubled parked. Not my fault."

"Keep telling yourself that." Warrick opened the door to the lab and walked in. "I'll drive."

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Don felt beaten. The lack of sleep and the stress of this case were wearing on him heavily. He had just spent several hours with Captain Brass and Gil Grissom and continual butting of heads had been the icing on the cake. Grissom wasn't the problem, if anything he had tried to play mediator. Brass was ready to pull Colby in and throw away the key.

Currently the damning evidence, other than the fact Colby had been covered in blood and a dead woman beside him, thought Don, was the GHB in Colby's blood. Brass was sure that the combination of alcohol, drugs and stress had caused Colby to kill the young lady. He did contend that perhaps it was some kind of flashback and that Colby "didn't" remember, but he was still guilty.

Taking a sip from the cup of coffee he had picked up on his way back to the hotel, Don reflected on the events. He knew that Colby couldn't have done something so cold blooded. However the events of the last year and the near death of his younger agent were the type of experiences that could cause posttraumatic stress.

"Hell no." The sound of his own voice breaking out of his thoughts surprised him. "No," he thought. "Colby wouldn't hurt someone like that."

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They had left the hotel with copies of the security tapes and information on Jeff Primmer, the bartender from the night before. Catherine had decided that she would take the tapes and start the tedious task of looking through them for something useful. This left Nick and David to run down the address the hotel had on file for the bartender.

After dropping Catherine off at the lab the two men headed for the apartment of Primmer. Pulling into a slightly shabby apartment complex they pulled into a spot by the front of the building.

Stepping out of the Denali Nick felt for his gun. The events of the last several years had caused him to be more cautious and the weight of the gun was reassuring. "Remember, you are just along as an observer. Anything happens I expect you to get yourself out of the way."

"I know the drill." David told Nick what he expected to hear. If anything happened David knew damn well that he would do whatever it was going to take to get Primmer. Yes, he would definitely have Colby's back this time.

The two men made their way to the third floor apartment, the open stairways and terraces of the building were littered with empty wrappers and miscellaneous trash. The design of the building was such that the only way in and out of the apartments was through the front doors.

"Looks like it's housekeeping's day off." David remark dryly.

"I guess bartending doesn't bring in the big bucks." Nick stepped over a moldy banana lying on the tread of the stairs. "I don't know how someone could live like this. I'd be outsides sweeping everyday."

"OCD much?" teasing lightly David followed the CSI up the final flight of stairs.

Nick laughed, "Yeah. I guess it goes along with my scientific mind, I want everything orderly."

Reaching the door to apartment 321, Nick and David took up positions on either side of the door. Next to the door was a large picture window with its drapes drawn tightly. Nick knocked on the door and waited for a minute. When no one came to the door, Nick pounded harder.

"No one's home." Nick looked at the man beside him. "I'll call for a warrant."

"How long will that take?"

Nick glanced at his watch. "Hour or so. Most judges have called it a day by now."

Shaking his head at the delay David didn't like the idea of waiting. "Did you hear something?"

"Huh?"

"Shhh, I think I hear someone inside. He could be hurt."

Catching on, Nick hesitated for a moment. The likelihood was that the apartment would be empty, but if they did go in without a warrant and found something there was the concern that it would be thrown out of court. "Let's check with the manager. I'd rather have him let us in than break down the door."

"Let's hurry. I'd hate for Primmer to be injured and need our help." David's tone was slightly sarcastic.

Less than ten minutes later the building manager opened the door to the apartment and Nick and David entered. A quick scan of the small living room did not turn up the suspect. Nick moved down the hallway to check out the rest of the apartment.

"You're sure you fellas heard something? This guy has been a pretty quiet renter. Rent is on time and never causes any problems." The manager spoke with David.

"We thought we heard someone cry out for help." David put on his most sincere expression.

"David," a call came from the rear of the apartment. "Come here."

Leaving the manager David joined Nick. "What did you find?"

"Primmer's body."

"What! You sure?"

"Looks like the photo we got from the hotel. DNA or prints will tell us for sure. Looks like a suicide." Nick jerked a thumb towards the manager. "Tell him to wait around; we'll want to talk to him. I'll call the P.D."

"I'm going to check in with Don, and then I'll start talking to our friend out there." David pulled out his cell phone.

"All right." Nick pulled out his own phone and called dispatch. After finishing the call he placed another to Grissom. "Hey, I followed up a led on the Granger case. Found our possible suspect dead, looks like he ate a bullet. Can you send Catherine out to help me process the scene?"

David had stepped onto the balcony and waited for Don to answer. Filling in his boss with the most recent turn of events, David listened to the frustration that mirrored his own.

"It seems a little too ironic that a person of interest suddenly kills themselves." Don's voice was tight.

"I agree. Stokes and his partner are going to process the scene so I'll know something as soon as they do. How is Charlie doing?"

"I'm getting ready to call him."

"Tell him to hurry. Our leads seem to be evaporating." David hung up and walked back into the apartment and started talking to the manager.

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Charlie had spoken with Amita for a solid twenty minutes. The call had ended with Charlie heading down the front desk to print off some information that Amita had emailed him. Colby had been sleeping peacefully and Charlie was sure that he would return before the agent would awaken.

He was heading back upstairs when his cell phone rang. Seeing Don's number Charlie set the small printer down and opened the phone. "Hey Don."

"Charlie. Tell me you have something for us."

"We've got a list of names that might have some connection. I think I mentioned to you earlier that the amounts of computer contacts that come into the FBI on any given day are huge."

"I know. I also have something else to toss into the mix. The victim is related to another dead body they found last night. This one had been tortured."

"Do you have the names yet?"

"No, but Brass thought they might by later tonight. Some of his people are trying to find someone to identify them. How's Colby doing?"

"Better, he's still sleeping. He had a nightmare earlier." Charlie decided to skip the part about Colby attacking him.

"I'm on my way back and when I get there I need to talk with him."

"How soon until you're back?"

"Not sure how long the Strip traffic will take, but I'm hoping within 20 minutes."

"I'll see you then." Charlie hung up the phone and stepped into the first elevator heading up. Had he been a minute slower he would have seen an elevator open up and Colby exiting it.


	11. Chapter 11

Author's notes: A thousand pardons for being tardy with posting this chapter. My ambition has taken a hike lately. I blame it on the overload of papers I have to correct for school. I need to remember that if I don't assign the work then I don't have to grade it. I should have been a college prof. - tests only and no homework!! Remember to share the love and review. I like the feedback negative or positive.

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He hadn't planned on being outside of the hotel, but when he saw the headlines on the paper he couldn't resist. It wasn't like he thought he would catch a glimpse of the man that the papers were describing as a war hero that had snapped, but just being close was enough of a rush.

The surprise he felt when he saw the man leave by himself quickly turned to anger. How could he be walking around as a free man? Why hadn't the police arrested him? Watching the muscular blonde head down the strip he decided to follow. After all, maybe something would present itself and he would be able to insure Colby Granger's fall from grace.

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Catherine reached down for the cup of coffee that was by the side of the monitor. Taking a sip she grimaced as she realized that the drink had grown cold. She had received a call several hours earlier from Nick. It was frustrating that the only led at the moment had lead to a dead end.

Originally she was just scanning the tapes to see the interaction between the now deceased bartender and the mystery woman. Now she was looking through the tapes to see if anyone else had approached him or the woman. Nick had remained at the scene and was helping to process it.

Pushing away from the monitor she stood and grabbed the coffee cup. Heading to the break room she could see Gil sitting in his office. "Hey Gil."

"Catherine." Gil looked up. "How's the video going?

"Nothing yet. I'm still looking. Need a cup of coffee?" She lifted her cup to indicate her own need.

"I could use a moment away from my desk." He joined her and they made their way to the break room. "I'm hoping that Warrick and Greg find something while questioning the workers at the restaurant. I've been running through the police logs to see if there had been any trouble there previously."

"Any luck?"

"Other than the minor complaints you would expect to see at any restaurant there has been nothing." Gil held open the door for her to enter. "Have you heard from Nick?"

"Victim sustained a single gun shot to the head consistent with a suicide. There was no sign of a note yet or any connection to the victim at the Luxor." Catherine rinsed the mug and refilled it. "I'm planning on looking at the blood splatter and the wounds next. I've been thinking that there is something off with them."

"Off?"

"I don't know what yet, but I hope by looking at the photos something will click."

Gil looked at his friend; they had been through so much together that sometimes it was hard to draw a line between the personal and the professional lives. "Let me know when it does. I don't think Don Eppes is going to let me get a moment of rest with this case."

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Don had just gotten out of the cab and was putting his wallet back into his pocket when his phone started ringing. Pulling it out, he glanced at the caller id and frowned. "Hey Charlie. I told you that I was almost to the hotel." The frown turned to a look of consternation. "You're sure he's not in there? No, I don't doubt your ability to search the room Charlie. I'm going to look around the lobby and the restaurants, maybe he was hungry and decided to grab a bite to eat. Try his cell phone for me and call me if he answers."

Don hung up and hurried into the hotel. Walking quickly he went to the various businesses that were part of the Luxor. Within minutes he realized that his friend was nowhere to be found.

Pulling out his phone he placed a call to David. "Hey have you heard from Colby? No?" Don rubbed the back of his neck; the muscles were tight, "Don't say anything to the locals. He's left the hotel and I'm trying to find him. No, just stay there and try to find out what you can. I'll call if I find him."

Tucking his phone back into his pocket Don turned and left the hotel lobby. After questioning the valets as to whether they had hailed a cab for Colby. One man thought he had seen someone matching the description but he couldn't be sure. Deciding a weak lead was better than no lead at all, Don headed in the direction that the valet thought Colby might have went.

"Damn it Colby," Don thought to himself. "Why don't you use your head and stay where you are told."

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Warrick and Greg had finally caught a break on their murder victim. The restaurant employees who had come in had identified the man in the basement as Chin Lee, the owner. According to the employees, Mr. Lee was a model citizen and they were shocked over the deaths of their co-workers. One of the workers, a young woman had also identified Nick's dead body as Mei Lee although she went by Michelle.

Unfortunately the young lady didn't know much more about "Michelle" because she had only met her several times. None of the other employees had ever seen her and all agreed that Chin had not spoken about a daughter.

On the way back to the lab Greg called and let Nick know about identification. The two men spoke for a few minutes and then hung up. Putting his phone away Greg sighed lightly. "Looks like Nick is hitting a dead-end. The bartender is dead."

Warrick's eyes stayed focused on the road as he spoke, "Does the FBI agent have an alibi?"

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He had been following the agent for twenty minutes and it didn't appear that he had been noticed. The longer they walked the angrier he became. At one point he had gotten close to Granger when the street signal had turned red. It had taken all of his restraint to keep from shoving Granger into the street and into the path of a car.

"Patience," he told himself. "The cops will be putting him away and he can set in prison and rot. Of course once he hit general population he won't last long. I'm betting cops get a warm welcome from the guys they put away."

The light turned green and he smiled as Colby started across the street. "If not, I'll do it myself."

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Colby crossed the street and threaded his way through the crowd starting to gather around Treasure Island. The show was beginning and he glanced briefly at the pirate ship floating in the manmade lagoon. He had seen the show several years ago. Before leaving for Afghanistan, Dwayne Carter, Jim Hayes, Jeff Long and himself had spent a long weekend in Vegas. It was an understatement to say that the four of them had painted the town red.

A small smiled crossed Colby's features as he remembered the escapades of the weekend. Jeff had wanted to take a dip in the TI lagoon and it had taken a lot of convincing on the part of the others to keep him out of the water. All four had come back safe from Afghanistan and had stayed in touch. The last time he had seen Jeff and Jim was when they had stopped by the hospital to visit him.

After the incident on the Chinese freighter he had been in the hospital for nine days. Dwayne's funeral had been on day seven and he was unable to attend. To be honest it had been a relief, had he been able to go he didn't know if he would have. Knowing that Dwayne had died saving his life and that he wouldn't ever be able to repay the debt bothered Colby. After he got out of the hospital he had sent an anonymous donation to the fund that was started to provide for Dwayne's son. Even that hadn't eased the guilt.

Colby turned and crossed the street and decided to head back to the hotel. He hadn't planned on leaving the hotel. He had needed some fresh air and when he had walked out into the warm late afternoon weather he had decided to take a small walk. He hadn't even realized he had come as far as he had. Feeling slightly thirsty, Colby stopped briefly at a small shop. Grabbing a Coke, he approached the counter to pay for it. Standing behind another customer, Colby caught the conversation between the clerk and the older man purchasing a paper.

"Another case of the police helping their own." The customer snorted.

"Can't trust any of 'em these days." The clerk replied.

"He's probably one of them guys that think the rules that the rest of us follow don't apply to him." The customer pocket his changed and turned. "Excuse me." He moved past Colby and was gone.

"Help you sir?"

Colby realized the clerk was talking to him. "Yeah," he sat the Coke on the counter. "Ring me a paper too."

"See the headlines? Some FBI guy killed a girl." The clerk glanced at Colby, there was no recognition of the agent.

"I heard." Colby handed the clerk several bills. Without waiting for his change, Colby gabbed the paper and headed back out into the warm evening. Standing next to the building he quickly scanned the article.

The reporter that had written the front-page story had obviously had an informant in the Las Vegas Police Department. There were too many facts to be anything less and the reporter had left enough unsaid that the reader could easily read between the lines. Even the picture of Colby leaving the hotel with Brass and Don was of high quality. The disorientation that Colby had felt when he was taken in was evident in the look on his face.

"Hell," Colby thought to himself. "I even look guilty." He folded up the paper and stuck it into the nearest trashcan. Stepping to the curb he looked for a taxi to hail. It was time to get back to the hotel and see what his friends had found.

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Don realized that after walking fifteen minutes that the hope of finding Colby in the crowds along the Strip was futile. Turning around he headed back to the Luxor. Hopefully Colby would return on his own and no one would be the wiser.

His phone rang and he flipped it open. The voice of the detective leading the investigation filled his ear. "You want Colby to come to the crime lab?"

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Nick was working on processing the scene but he wasn't finding much other than what he would have expected to find in any apartment. The body had already been removed and it didn't appear that he was going to find anything revealing. He glanced over at the FBI agent that had gloved up and given him a hand.

Standing up and twisting to remove some of the kinks that had settled in while bending down looking for any trace that might be connected to the case he pulled off his gloves. "I think I've got everything I need."

"It's late enough that the neighbors should all be home from work. Are you going to knock on doors and see if anyone can tell us anything about the victim?" David followed suit by removing his gloves as well.

"Yeah. Maybe we can get someone to tie Primmer to the girl." Nick closed up his kit. "Let me get this locked up and we can get started.

The two men walked out into the evening. The desert air was cooling off with the sun down. The first two apartments were a bust; no one was home in either. Posting a message asking the tenant to call the investigators the men knocked on the next door.

"Who is it?" The voice from behind the door sounded like it had smoked one too many cigarettes or had swallowed broken glass sometime recently.

"Las Vegas Crime Lab." Nick smiled at the peephole, hoping that a friendly demeanor would be to their benefit.

The door opened and an older woman stepped into the doorway. "Crime Lab huh. Doesn't surprise me. Some of the people that live here don't live any better than animals. So who is it? That girl in 116? She's got a different guy in there every night."

Nick tried to suppress a grin; the complex busy body. Here might be a break; he didn't doubt that much would happen around here with out her knowing.

"No ma'am. Jeff Primmer in apartment 321. We were wondering if you could tell us anything about him."

"Quiet enough kid. I think he works at one of the bars. He's home during the day and gets home late."

"Have you ever seen him with this woman?"

The neighbor took the photo of Michelle Lee and looked at it. "Can't say if I've ever seen her. Why?"

Ignoring the question Nick continued on. "Have you seen him with anyone else?"

"He does have one guy that comes over to see him. A real asshole. He parked in my parking spot several times."

"Do you know his name?"

"No. The manager might. I've complained enough about him."

"Thanks." Nick tipped his hat to her as he and David moved away from the door. Speaking to David, Nick started towards the steps. "Let's hope the manager knows something."

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Don had hung up after promising Brass that they would come to the station. He had of course withheld the fact that Colby wasn't with him. What Brass didn't know couldn't hurt him, but if they delayed going in for too long he would have to answer for the deception.

Trying to decide on his next move Don was taken aback when the object of his query stepped from a taxi. Moving to intercept the younger agent, Don's temper flared.

"Colby!" He moved in close. "Where the hell have you been?"

"Don," Colby started.

Not giving him a chance to explain Don continued on. "Where's your fucking head Granger? You're a suspect in a murder and you decide to go hit the town. Didn't you stop to think what it's going to look like if someone had recognized you? The press is already having a field day with this. They get wind that you're out enjoying a night on the town and this is going to blow up in our face. I don't know how you expect us to help you if you don't give us some help. "

Standing quietly as his boss unleashed his fury, Colby felt his own anger rise to the surface. "What I'm doing? I needed a chance to get out and clear my head. I though that my friends were watching out for me. I can tell by listening to you that don't trust me. I thought that we had put this behind us. You and the police have tried and convicted me already."

"That's unfair Colby. We're standing by you but you need to realize that we have to play by their rules."

"I'm tired of always playing by someone else's rules." Colby pulled away from the grip that Don had on his arm and headed for the door.

"Don't bother going in Colby, we're needed at the station." Don turned and informed the valet to hail a cab.

Colby turned and crossed his arms over his chest. "Fine. Maybe they'll get to the bottom of this."

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The request to have Colby return to the crime lab had originated with Catherine. After her break she had returned to the lab and had laid out the photos that had been shot of the crime scene and the suspect. As she looked at them she imagined the scene playing out in her mind.

The male approached the female and stabbed her in the shoulder; the victim threw her arm up to protect herself from the next attack and the killer slashed at her arm catching the brachial artery. The spray of blood rained across the man and the bed. The woman crumpled and the man followed her to the floor, stabbing her eight additional times.

Suddenly Catherine grabbed for a photo of Colby's torso. The blood pattern was not consistent with what she would expect to see with the orientation of the killer to the victim. She picked up the phone and hit Nick's number.

Speaking with her co-worker, she ran the idea that was forming in her mind past him. Hearing his approval of the plan she had laid out, she thanked him and hung up. The next number was that of Grissom. He too thought her idea had merit.

Smiling to herself, Catherine collected her photos and went to see Dr. Robbins to get a height on Jeff Primmer.

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Charlie was relieved when he received a call from Don alerting him to Colby's return. Don had also told Charlie that he was accompanying Colby to the crime lab. It seems that the investigators needed to speak with Colby again.

Turning his attention back to his computer, Charlie placed a call to Amita and wasn't surprised when she answered and told him that Larry was there working with her. Thanking both of them, Charlie updated them with what he had.

"There doesn't seem to be any connections Charlie." Amita informed him. "I really don't think anything that we've found so far is significant."

"I agree. I spoke with Megan and the few leads we were able to give her haven't amounted to anything. I guess I'm drawing a blank." Charlie sighed wearily. "Plus I don't even have a single chalkboard here."

"How is everyone holding up?" Amita voice expressed her concern.

"It's tense. Don and Colby just went back to the police crime lab and David is working with the police as well."

"Charlie, I don't want to seem unsupportive, but do you think that with Colby's background that it might be a case of post-traumatic stress?"

"No." Charlie was adamant. "Not Colby. I trust him with my life Amita. Someone killed that girl and it wasn't Colby. Keep looking just to be sure, but I'll call you as soon as I have anything else. I love you."

"Love you too Charlie. Be careful and tell Colby we will do everything we can to help."

"Thanks Amita. Bye." Charlie replaced the phone and thought about everything that had occurred in the last two days. There had to be a connection and Charlie was determined to find it.

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Knocking on the manager's door again Nick and David waited for the man to answer. The door opened and the manager poked his head out. "What do you need now?"

"Spoke with one of your other tenants and she said that a friend of Primmer had a bad habit of parking in her spot. You didn't happen to get his name did you?" Nick had opened a small notebook.

"Shelia Lewis complaining again?" The manager shook his head. "She got in to it with that guy on several occasions. I warned him about it several times but I never got his name. The last time it happened I had his car towed. Haven't had a problem since then."

"What towing company did you use?"

"Kennedy Towing."

"Do you have the number?"

"Hold on and I'll get it for you." The manager disappeared back into the apartment and returned with a number written on a scrap of paper. "Do you need anything else?"

"I can't think of anything Mr. McGraw. Thanks for your help." Nick smiled at the man and turned to David. "Lets give Kennedy Towing a call on our way back. Plus, I'm starving how about you?"

"I could eat." David realized that he was hungry.

"Lets drive through and take it back to the lab. Catherine wants us there to help with a recreation. She's got your guys coming in."

David looked sideways at the CSI, "What's her plan?"

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He was packing up. It wasn't that he really had a lot of belongings. He had always traveled light and even though he had lived in Las Vegas for two years the small apartment looked barren.

Walking over to the small television he picked up a photo and looked at the men in it. It was old, at least six years ago. He had only been sixteen when it was taken. Picking up another he looked at the happy family smiling at the photographer from Olin Mills. The final one was of a beautiful young woman, her long hair falling across her face. Three photos and three ruined lives.


	12. Chapter 12

Author's notes: I apologize for my long delay. Between work responsibilities (directing fall play) and home, my uncle passed away from cancer (the second this year) and then my elderly father broke his hip at the nursing home and had to be hospitalized for a week. Now with Christmas and the impending arrival of my mother-in-law, life is nuts. However we had a day off of school today due to freezing rain! Yeah for snow days!

So here it is. Thanks for understanding.

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The cab ride to the crime lab was a quiet one. Don sat looking out the window and mulling over the conversation from a few minutes ago. He had decided he wasn't going to say anything else mainly because he didn't trust himself not to go off again on the agent sitting next to him.

Colby was also silent. He really didn't have anything to say. He was berating himself because he hadn't even thought about how his "walk" would have looked to anyone else. He had just needed air and space and he couldn't understand why Don of all people couldn't understand that. He knew how to deal with pressure, hell between the military and FBI training he could handle whatever was thrown at him. Don's reaction really bothered Colby. It was as if Don didn't trust him. That was what hurt, after everything he had been through in the last year Colby felt like Don would never doubt him again. Now, he wasn't sure.

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After losing Granger on the strip he had went back to the small apartment and cleaned out all of his personal belongings. Now his 2004 Honda Accord was parked in the parking garage of the Luxor and he was sitting in the lobby watching the main entrance. He felt the bulky outline of the gun that was concealed in the pocket of his jacket.

He was afraid his plan was unraveling. Rubbing his tired eyes he made sure his gaze wasn't off of the door for long. Granger had to return and when he did, a surprise would be waiting.

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While they drove towards the lab, Nick was talking on the phone to the owner of the Kennedy Towing and not making much headway. Even though the company towed vehicles all hours of the day, the office was closed and the owner was balking at going in to retrieve the information.

"Sir," Nick's Texan accent was more prominent as he allowed his frustration to show. "If you force me to go and get a warrant for the owner's name and address it will be in the middle of the night. If you go in and get it for me now you can return home and be in bed before the news is over."

David listened to the one-sided conversation and tried not to think about the delicious aroma that was wafting out of the take out bag that sat on his lap. When Nick had suggested food David had realized that he had skipped several meals and he was hungry. Calling ahead to a Mexican place, David was a little dismayed when they turned into a parking lot with an old camper parked at one end. Nick had hoped out and went over to a small carryout window that had been added to the side of the camper. Returning, Nick had promised that even though the place might lack a certain ambiance the food was excellent. Judging from the smell Nick was correct. David tore his thoughts away from the food and back to the conversation.

"Sir, when I have that warrant I am going to personally come over to your house, wake you and your neighbors up and drive you in a squad car down to your office. No sir, that is not a threat, that is a promise." Nick paused. "Alright sir, have it your way. I'll plan on seeing you at around 2 a.m. I'll be the one knocking loudly on your door." He snapped the cell phone shut. "Asshole. He knows I'll get a warrant, but he wants to play this the hard way. I'm going to look forward to waking his ass up."

"Glad to see that we don't have all of them living in L.A." David teased slightly. "Sometimes I think we have a corner on the market."

"I just can't understand why people don't want to cooperate with us. If they were guilty I could see their motivation, but it seems like some just like to fuck around with us." Nick shook his head. "I guess I've just always wanted to see the good in people and I keep getting disappointed." He turned into the parking lot and slipped into a spot close to the door. "Come on, let's get in and eat that while it's hot."

Nick led the way to the break room and indicated to David to have a seat. He reached into the refrigerator to grab several sodas and joined the FBI agent at the table.

David had already pulled out the take out boxes and had opened his. "Damn, this looks good."

"Best green chili pork you'll ever have." Nick had just opened his own box. "Had a shooting in that parking lot four years ago and while interviewing Mama Lopez, she gave me a helping of carne asada. That was all it took, I've been going there since."

Swallowing the mouthful of tender pork, David replied. "I can see why. This is delicious."

The break room door opened and Catherine stuck her head inside. "Hey, if you two can tear yourself away, Eppes and Granger just got here. I've got things set up in the back lab."

Nick grabbed another bite and closed the lid to the box. He washed it down with a swallow of Coke. "I'm also waiting for warrant to come in on the towing service that might have a record for a friend of Primmer's."

Following Nick's lead, David closed up the box of food and stood up. "What's your plan Ms. Willows?"

"Catherine please." Catherine smiled at David. "The blood pattern doesn't seem to fit and I need to get Granger's height and weight to put into a simulation."

"It sounds like you realize that Colby didn't do this." David felt relief course through his veins.

"I don't assign guilt David, I just follow the evidence." She didn't want to raise his hopes to high. "I spoke with Warrick a little while ago. He and Greg are trying to run down some more information on the Lee's. They will let us know if anything tie it to us."

Nick took the two carryout boxes to the refrigerator and shot a teasing look at Catherine. "I know these are in here, so don't try to use the "I didn't know that it was yours Nick" excuse you tried last time you ate my leftovers." He pointed at her in a mock threat. "I know you ate the chicken asada I had in there last week."

"I did no such thing. It was Greg." Catherine smiled as she exited the room. "I'll be in the lab."

"A man has to protect his food around here." Nick explained.

"I feel your pain, Colby is our resident chow hound." David followed Nick into the spacious room. He glanced around at the wide variety of items stored on shelves. "Use this place much?"

"Yeah, looks like it doesn't it." Nick smiled as he took in the contents of the room that assisted the CSI's with reenactments. "We've been starting to use a whole lot more of computer generated scenes, but sometimes we find that going old school is best."

Don and Colby were talking with Catherine and Colby looked up as the two men approached. David could see the dark circles under Colby's eyes and the strained set to his mouth. He tried to send him a supportive look, but Colby was already looking back down at the ground.

"Hey David." Don was glad to see his friend; dealing with Colby was slowly wearing on him and he needed the chance to have a breather and touch bases with David. "I need to speak with you for a few minutes." Don motioned to the hall.

The two men excused themselves and Catherine went over to the far side of the lab and started putting together the needed items for the recreation she wanted to attempt.

Nick looked at the FBI agent and laid a hand on his shoulder in support. "I need to get some measurements from you if I could."

"Yeah, whatever you need." Colby's tone was slightly flat with a hint of the frustration he was feeling.

"You know that we're doing everything we can to help." Nick tried to shake the other man from his mood.

"Sure as hell doesn't seem like it. It feels more like you're building your case. Every bit of evidence is seeming like it's pointing straight at me." Colby's words came out bitter.

"Hey, I know how you feel. You've" Nick was cut off suddenly.

"Know how I feel?" Colby spat. "I doubt that, you don't know what it feels like to let your team down. Knowing that one small mistake could cost you your career."

Nick shook his head, memories of Kristy again coming to mind. "You're wrong there. I do know what it's like."

Shooting him a glance that clearly indicated that he thought Nick was bullshitting him, Colby tone turned challenging. "So what do you know about being on this side of the coin?"

"A girl I was with ended up being murdered and it appeared that I had done it." Nick looked hard at Colby, almost daring him to dispute his story. "You've got to remember that the best thing for you to do is to keep your cool and let us find the truth."

Listening to Nick, Colby brought a hand up to his neck and tried to rub the tension away. "I'm sorry. I don't know what's got into me. I'm acting like an ass."

"Don't worry about it. Like I said, been there and done that." Nick reached for a tape measure similar to one used in sewing. "Come on and lets get those measurements so that Catherine can get started on her simulation."

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Greg yawned as the vehicle pulled into a home in the residential section of Las Vegas. He and Warrick had been chasing down leads since they had come into work and this was their last stop.

The men stepped out of the car and approached the modest home of Chin Lee's sister. Knocking on the door, they both listened for someone to approach the door. It was only moments later that the door opened a crack and a frown make appeared below the door's chain.

"Good evening Mrs. Ang. My name is Warrick Brown and this is Greg Sanders. We are from the Las Vegas Crime Lab and we have some questions that we would like to ask you about your brother and your niece."

"I don't know anything. I told that to the police earlier." The diminutive woman's tone was anything but friendly.

"We just want to know if you might be able to tell us anything about your niece's boyfriend." Warrick inquired.

"Hah. Not much of a boyfriend. She brought him to the restaurant once. So many nice Chinese boys around and she brings a loser like him. Chin told her that she was disgrace to the family." She paused. "You think he did this to Chin?"

"So do you know his name or where he lives?" Warrick pressed.

"She called him Danny. That's all I know. She didn't bring him around again. I know they were still dating because Chin complained about it." The older woman paused as she turned to return inside her home. "You will let me know if you catch him."

"We will. We would like you to identify him once we find him." Warrick closed his notebook.

The woman nodded and stepped inside as the two men returned to their vehicle. Climbing in, Greg pulled his seatbelt out. "Well, looks like we are batting zero."

"Let's hope Nick has better luck. Let's go see if that warrant is ready for the towing service."

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Out in the hallway David listened as Don related what little he knew about Colby's foray. Shaking his head in disbelief he tried to smooth things over with his boss. "We need to look at it from Colby's perspective too. I'm sure he feels completely blindsided by this and when he can't help with the investigation he is frustrated. Hell, he's got to have the worst luck when it comes to crap like this." David paused. "I'm not letting my partner down again."

"If he could just see we are doing what's best for him." Don was still slightly angry with Colby disappearing from the hotel.

"I guess the sooner these guys get the case solved the sooner we can get back to normal. Has Charlie discovered anything?"

"No. He's been working on it but there doesn't seem to be any connection. I guess there isn't always a logical answer to everything."

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Greg and Warrick met with a rather unhappy Phillip Kennedy at the office of his towing company. Handing a copy to the short, barrel-chested man, Greg smiled as he watched the man go over to his computer and power it up.

Catching Warrick's eye, Greg nodded towards the owner. "We sure appreciate your help Mr. Kennedy." His voice was saccharine sweet.

Listening to the older man's grumbled reply about government, taxes and sticking large items into small body parts both men shared a quiet laugh.

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The test had been relatively simple. Catherine had concentrated on the blood spatter and Nick had feed measurements into a computer program that would run a computer simulation of what had occurred that evening.

Sitting in a chair by the computer, Colby watched as Nick manipulated the information. The return of David and Don to the room didn't cause either man to look up from the screen. They all remained silent for another ten minutes until Nick finally spoke. "Guys, I don't want to get your hopes up too high, but from what we are seeing there is no way that Colby could have stabbed the victim and received the type of blood spray that was on him. Plus, from the looks of the angles on the stab wounds the killer was probably three or four inches shorter than Colby.

The smile that broke out on Colby's face was one of pure gratitude. "That's the best damn news I've heard in two days."

"We'll get this to Grissom and he'll let Brass know." Catherine placed a hand on Colby's shoulder and gave him a reassuring squeeze. "I know we came on hard, but you can understand that we need to follow the evidence."

"I understand. Thanks, all of you for your help." Colby paused. "So will you start looking for Michelle's killer?"

Nick nodded. "We don't have a whole lot to go off of but we won't just let it drop. There is still the mysterious boyfriend to account for."

Colby stifled a yawn and looked at Don and David. "Would it be alright if I headed back to the hotel? I'm still feeling whipped."

"Sure Colby, David why don't you go with him." Don looked at the younger agent and noticed the blue-black rings under his eyes. "I'll stay and wrap things up here."

"If it's alright with you I'd like a little time alone." Colby looked at his partner. "I just need to decompress a little."

"Sure Colby." David understood that Colby wasn't looking for heartfelt talks right now.

"I'll call Charlie and let him know your coming and also that he can stop looking." Don pulled out his cell phone and walked out to the hallway to call his brother.

Colby shook Nick and Catherine's hands and excused himself. Once he had left, Catherine turned to David and asked. "Big strong and silent type when it comes to things like this?"

"Yeah," David smiled. "Gary Cooper all the way."

"I can feel for you, I know someone just like that." She smiled at Nick and placed a hand on his shoulder. Removing it, she sat down in the seat vacated by Colby. "Lets get this saved and talk to Gil."

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During the ride back to the Luxor, Colby had felt the hundred pound stone lift from his chest. The relief was intermingled with anger and sadness. Someone had murdered Michelle and had tried to tie it to him; they would need to pay for that.

Paying the fee he had stepped from the cab and entered into the hotel's lobby. At this time of night most of the activity was more towards the nightclubs. "Staying away from there." Thought Colby as he quietly waited for an elevator.

The doors opened to an empty car and as he entered another passenger pushed in. "Third floor." The other man's voice sounded young. Colby pushed the buttons and the doors closed on the two and started upward.

The sound of a gun's slide being drawn back broke into Colby's thoughts. "We are both going to get off on the third floor Granger. If you try anything funny I'll shoot you and then I'll shoot the next two people we see just to show you I mean business."

"Alright. What do you want?"

"To see you suffer like you made my brother suffer."


	13. Chapter 13

Author's notes: Wow, did my creative juice dry up. I've been trying to jump start it and it has been a painful process. What stinks is that I have this story outlined, so I know where I'm going, but finding the words to use to get us all there has been hard. Thanks for sticking with me. I'm wondering howmany of you know who might be giving our Colby problems. Any guesses? And away we go!!!

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Nick was sitting at the computer when his cell phone rang. Glancing at the name that popped up on the display he saw that it was Greg. "Hey man. What's the word?" He grabbed a pen and wrote down the information that Sanders was relaying. "Thanks.

Disconnecting, he turned to the others. "Greg just called with the name of the owner of the car that had been towed from the dead bartender's house." He handed it over to David. "We've got an address and Greg and Warrick are heading over to check it out."

David looked at the name and handed it to Don. "What do you think Don? Could it be a coincidence?"

"I don't know. Lets run it and see what we can find out. Why don't you try Colby, maybe he can tell us."

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From the moment he had heard the sound of the slide of the semi-automatic pistol Colby had been weighing his options as. As they walked into the hotel's parking garage he reviewed what he knew. The young man with a gun to his back knew how to use it, that he was sure of. He also knew that the threat to shoot others would be carried out if he didn't follow directions. He didn't want anyone else to suffer because of him, so it was in his best interest to do what he was told. The best plan he could come up with was to follow along and wait for an opportunity.

"The Accord over there. The keys are in it and you're driving."

"Doug, this isn't a good idea. My team is closing in on you. They know you killed Michelle."

"Shut up Colby. Give me your cell phone."

"Don't have one with me."

"Bullshit. Give it to me or I'll take it from you."

"Why don't you try." Colby was confident that a hand-to-hand situation would level the odds greatly.

"Right." The other man laughed harshly. "You'd like that wouldn't you; give you a chance to take me. I know the training book too Colby. Get the phone or I put a bullet in you. I promise I'll make it painful."

Colby pulled the cell phone. He had shut it off earlier to save his battery. He turned slightly to hand it to the gunman.

"Just toss it anywhere. We are going to leave it here."

"You know that I'll have to pay for that out of my own pocket if I lose it."

"I don't think you need to worry about that."

Quickly hitting the one button, Colby then tossed the phone as gently as he could towards the edge of the wall.

"Good, get in."

Colby opened the door and got into the car. Looking in the rearview mirror, he could see the other man climbing into the backseat. "I know you brother wouldn't want you to make the same mistakes he made."

With a scornful laugh the young man locked eyes with Colby. "What trusting you?"

"I know it might seem that way to you, but that's not the way it happened."

"Let's go. You'll have plenty of time to tell me how you killed my brother."

The cold metal pressing against his neck was enough incentive. Colby started the car and headed towards the exit. At least the parking garage had security cameras. There would be some record of what was happening.

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Greg and Warrick had driven to the apartment. On the way they had called and had asked Brass to arrange for a warrant to allow them to search for evidence. Once there, they waited for a detective to arrive with the document.

There was no on site maintenance, so the door was taken care of with a well placed kick. Inside the small apartment it was apparent that the suspect had left. Dresser drawers were open and empty; bathroom was stripped of toiletries and marks in the dust showed where some items had set.

"Well, we should be able to find DNA." Greg pointed to the sheets on the bed as Warrick walked into the bedroom. "It doesn't look like he was much into housekeeping."

"I guess I was hoping that he would have left a little more that ties him to the murder, like a confession all typed out and signed." Warrick pulled on a pair of gloves and began to assist.

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Nick and Catherine had watched the reaction of the two men upon hearing the name of the possible suspect. Directing her question to Don, Catherine asked, "Would someone care to fill us in on why this subject has you reacting like this?"

David spoke before Don could answer. "I'm getting nothing Don. It's going right into voicemail."

"Can you pull up whatever you can on the suspect?" Don looked at Nick who was sitting by the computer terminal.

"Sure, " Nick replied, knowing that answers would be forth coming. The DMV information pulled up concerning his license and registration. "Not a whole lot of information here. Let's see if he's in the state's system for anything else."

Catherine cleared her throat. "Hello? What is the connection here?"

"Let's just say that if this guy is who we think he is that he's got a whole lot of reasons to hate Colby."

"Nothing." Nick continued typing. "Looks like he's clean. I can check some of other databases and see what we can find.

Don was on his cell phone as well. "He probably didn't turn it back on yet. I couldn't get him earlier. Megan? Hey, it's Don. I need you to get to the office and run a name for me."

Speaking with David who had just finished leaving Colby a message Nick indicated towards his computer screen. "We've got a hit. Seems he has a military record. Looks like he was in the Army. Discharged January 2007."

"Family listed?" Don looked at the screen.

Pulling up a different page Nick and the others all quickly scanned it. The answer came at the bottom of the page.

"Shit." Don muttered.

Catherine looked up. "Alright, so he has a divorced mother and father and an older brother. What's so shocking in that?"

"His older brother was a good friend of Colby's from the army and this good friend just happened to be a spy for the Chinese." Don's phone rang while he was speaking. "Megan, what do you have? Yeah, we saw that too. Any indication that Doug Carter was helping his brother Dwayne spy?"

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The gun pressing into his neck relaxed slightly as the car moved out of the city. Doug had directed the route, leaving the strip as quickly as possible and making their way through the suburbs. "Smart move," thought Colby. "Less likely to be picked up on any of traffic cameras."

It was less than an hour when they pulled into the Toiyabe National Forest. They had encountered very light traffic on the way there and since entering into the park there had been no cars. When Colby pulled into the parking lot at one of the trailheads he was glad to see other vehicles already parked. Maybe he would get lucky and someone would see them.

"Don't try anything foolish Colby. My offer to kill a two others still stands. You'll be in front of me and I'll have a gun on you." Doug slid out of the backseat and instructed Colby to pop open the trunk. "Get out and grab a back pack."

"Still hiking? Dwayne always talked about how you loved the mountains." Colby hoped that he might still be able to strike up a dialog with the younger man; either to distract him or to give up the gun. "I grew up near the Clearwater Mountain range. It's hard to find time to do much hiking."

"I know what you're doing, get me talking or listening and distract me. Now shut up and follow this trail."

Sighing inwardly Colby shouldered the backpack and stepped towards the trail. He could sense Doug several steps back from him. If anyone encountered them, they would look no different than two guys out hiking.

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Charlie reached for his phone that was vibrating on the table. Not taking his eyes off of the computer he answered. "This is Charlie. Hey Don." He paused and listened. "No, he hasn't come back. What!"

Standing quickly and heading to the door he continued to listen. "But that's good isn't it. If Dwayne Carter's brother has connections to the murder that should clear Colby from any involvement."

Opening the door and heading to the elevator he grimaced to himself. "Yeah, I guess I didn't think about that. So have you tried his cell phone? Here? Ok, I'll wait for you in the lobby."

The elevator dinged as the door opened. Charlie stepped in and waited for the short trip to the main floor.

Charlie only had to wait ten minutes before he saw his brother and the others entering the hotel. Don waved to his brother to join them. "We've got a reading on his cell phone." They all headed to the bank of elevators and took the next available elevator up.

Making their way to the parking garage the group began making a systematic search of the cars and the area. It was David that found the phone, slightly damaged but still on.

"Shit." Don took the phone from his colleague. "There goes our chance to find him."

"Maybe not." Charlie pointed to a security camera in the corner of the garage. "Besides the casino, Las Vegas has one of the biggest traffic camera system for a city of it's size. We find the car that Colby left in and we might be able to track where he's headed.

"That sounds like a good start. Nick you take David and look at the tapes. I'll have Warrick and Greg follow up on Doug's work and see if he might have said anything that might help." Catherine immediately took charge. She looked at Don, silently questioning him to see if he agreed with her assignments.

Don nodded, "Charlie, you go with David. I'll see if Megan can get any information on Carter. I don't think I need to tell you that time might be running short."

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The two had hiked quietly for over two hours and during that time they encountered no other hikers. It seemed to Colby that Doug obviously knew this area well. A small sign they had passed twenty minutes ago announced that they had entered the Mt. Charleston Wilderness area.

Colby was up to the exercise although his choice in footwear was not what he would have chosen for a difficult hike; the short socks and tennis shoes were find for urban walking, but the rugged uphill trail was proving too much for them. He could feel hot spots forming on the back of his ankle.

"You know if you had told me we were going hiking I would have been better prepared." Colby had occasionally tried to engage Doug in conversation however the other man refused to talk. "I don't suppose you have an extra pair of socks in that pack? I think I'm getting a blister."

"Getting soft Granger?" The tone was slightly taunting.

"No, just commenting. Do you mind if we stop long enough for me to take a piss?"

"Whatever."

Colby walked to the edge of the narrow trail and unzipped. He relieved himself and took a few moments to scan the area. Contemplating the success of an escape attempt he quickly dismissed the idea. The best plan seemed to be to wait for an opportunity or make a move when Doug revealed his plan.

"Lets go Granger." Doug was stowing a water bottle back into his own pack.

"Don't suppose you've got a bottle of water in there for me?" Colby was suddenly aware of his own thirst.

"Nope."

"Didn't think so." Colby adjusted his pack and stepped back to the trail. "That's alright, I'd just have to piss again."


	14. Chapter 14

Author's notes: Thanks for the reviews. I thought I would give you a little chapter as a reward for your love!

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Charlie shook his head in frustration. The video from the parking garage had yielded a picture perfect display of what had taken place between Colby and Doug Carter. The video also showed them getting into a black Honda Accord and leaving the hotel. They had been able to track it for ten blocks using the footage from the traffic cameras, but then it had disappeared. Looking at a schematic drawing of the locations of the cameras it was apparent that once someone moved into the residential areas they were off the grid.

"Shit," David cursed. "We can't even get a fix for what direction they took. Once they got off the strip, they could have gone any where."

"In theory yes," Charlie picked up a pen and started drawing. "I've analyzed a lot of escape routes and looking at the camera locations I'm thinking that they would be heading south or west."

"I don't want to burst your physic bubble, but how can you tell?" Nick's tone was skeptical.

"What do we know about Carter so far? He's ex-military, he's been living in Las Vegas for over a year and he's smart. Look at the camera locations. If you wanted to lead someone in the direction you weren't going what would you do?" Not giving anyone time to answer, Charlie continued on. "Just like in football, the military teaches its members to feint; lead the enemy in the opposite direction. Doug used the cameras to leave electronic footprints leading off into the wrong direction. If they show us they are going north east, they will go in the opposite direction."

Nick nodded, "Makes sense. The only problem is that when you head out of Las Vegas going southwest it is leading you right back to L.A."

"I think it's a safe bet they're not headed back to L.A." Charlie looked at Nick, "If you were going to go somewhere and didn't want anyone to find you, where would you go?"

"Well, there is plenty of wilderness areas; desert or mountains, you can take your pick."

David spoke up, "I say we give Don a call and see if Megan has put together a profile on where he might be headed."

"Good idea." Charlie agreed. "The more I know about his personality and habits, the more likely I can pinpoint a search."

"Looks like Catherine released what we know to the media." Nick motioned to a monitor across the room; a picture of the car was followed by one of Colby and another of Doug Carter. "Maybe we'll get lucky and someone will have spotted the vehicle."

"I'm just afraid that at some point Colby's going to run out of luck." David's face was grim as he looked at the image of his friend on the screen.

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They had left the marked trail and were no longer moving up the mountain but following along the sub alpine forest. Earlier from a scenic vantage point along the trail Colby had been able to see Las Vegas in the distance; the city sprawled out across the arid flats. The sun was almost overhead and the sky was clear. Had it been under different circumstances Colby would have found himself enjoying the hike. Growing up around the mountains and foothills of northern Idaho, Colby had spent considerable time hiking and enjoying outdoor activities.

"This whole area is part of a national forest. The peak up there, Charleston is at an elevation of almost 12,000 feet." Doug had been speaking more freely since leaving the trail. He had also dropped back a little further as a precaution against Colby using a low tree branch as a diversion or weapon. He stood back and kept a wary eye on his prisoner and checked the small GPS unit that hung from his neck.

Colby pulled up, happy to rest his feet. The suspected blisters were no longer just a possibility; he could feel the raw spots chafe with every step. "Fascinating Doug. I'm glad we had this little stroll so you could show me the sights and impress me with your knowledge."

Continuing as if he hadn't heard the sarcasm, Doug smiled. "There is a total of 57,442 acres, most of it only assessable by hiking in. If we were to go higher up we be in the largest collection of Bristlecone pines in the intermountain region. Where we are now is mainly white pine and mountain hemlock. National Park Service patrols this area, but they don't have much manpower. They tend to focus on the areas around the lodges and ski area."

"Like I said, impressive, but why share this with me"

Doug pulled out a bottle of water and took a drink. "I've been trying to decide what to do with you since I got the call telling me that Dwayne was dead."

"I suppose letting me go isn't one of the options."

"See that tree there?" Doug pointed to a pine tree that was slightly smaller than some of the others around it. "Have a seat against it." He pulled out a pair of handcuffs. "Put it on one of your wrists and put your arms behind the tree." The gun was back out and leveled at Colby.

Colby moved over to the tree and bent over. "Mind of I loosen these laces first?"

"Go ahead."

Knowing that this would be his only chance, Colby worked at one lace, pretending to adjust it. Glancing at the terrain, Colby weighed his chances. Down hill was going to be his best chance for cover. Taking a deep breath Colby tensed as he moved to the other lace.

"I'm rated as an expert marksman. I won't miss."

Realizing that Doug was prepared for him to make a run for it, Colby straightened and turned to look at him. "So, I should just sit down and let you shoot me?"

"I'm not going to shoot you unless you make me."

Glaring at Doug defiantly, Colby sat down and put the cuff around one wrist. Placing his arms around the tree he could hear the sound of the younger man moving behind the tree. The moment that he felt the hand close around his wrist he exploded up and around the tree.

Colby knew that Doug would not have expected this and was pleased to see the look of surprise as he threw himself at him. Colby moved his hand up to grab at the gun and the two men started grappling for control.

Having the height and weight advantage, Colby felt he was making headway when his feet were suddenly swept out from beneath him. Falling, he pulled the other man with him. Now both men were on the hard, uneven forest floor. Rolling over, Colby was slowly working to gain more control.

Without warning, a gunshot split the air. Slowly one man climbed up, looking down at the other man, dazed and bleeding from a bullet wound.


	15. Chapter 15

Author's Notes: Sorry for the delay. Here is what you're wanting! Remember to share the love and leave a little review for me.

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"Not a surprise that an ex-military guy would find work as a security consultant or go into law enforcement." Warrick looked at the notebook that he had written the information he had gleaned from co-workers in. "What does surprise me is that he didn't try for something better than working as a security guard.

"It did give him access to several of the casino hotels." Greg had spoken with the owner who supplied the locations of several of Doug's last assignments. He and Warrick had spent over an hour individually speaking with people at Doug Carter's place of employment. Most of his co-workers at the security company knew nothing about the man. They describe Carter as stand-offish and arrogant.

"Lets run down that last name. The manager said that Carter seemed to get along with this guy. Maybe he knows a little more than the others did. He's over at the Flamingo and due to get off in one hour."

"Sounds good. On the way lets swing through someplace to grab some food, I'm starving." Greg opened the passenger door and climbed in.

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"Eppes. Hey Megan, what do you have for me."

"Not as much as I would like." Back in California, Megan had been pouring over files and interviews from the Dwayne Carter case. It was standard procedure for the families and friends to be questioned and Megan had the connections to get a look into the files.

"Something is better than nothing. Hold on a minute, I'll put you on speaker phone, Charlie and David are here, plus the CSI's working the case locally."

"The Carter family lived in Northern California. The mother was an at home daycare provider and the father worked for the National Park Service as a ranger at Yosemite. Three children, oldest Dwayne, Doug was five years younger and then a sister who is two years behind Doug. From the looks of it normal family home and upbringing. The father died six years ago, the result of a car accident. Both Dwayne and Doug joined the military. When Dwayne was arrested for spying, Doug was stationed in Germany. During his questioning he was very upset at the idea of big brother spying and claimed that it must be a mistake or a set-up. No indication that Doug was in anyway aware of Dwayne's activities. Doug was honorably discharged two years ago, looks like about six months after Dwayne's arrest."

"Ok, so he had a wonderful childhood." David snapped. "What do you make of him?"

"He will be meticulous in his planning, he likes control, and he feels at home in the mountains. So I would suggest that those would be his refuge. As far as a location, I really don't have anything to give you." The disappointment was evident in her voice.

"Thanks Megan, let us know if anything else comes up." Don disconnected and turned to the others. "So it looks like the mountains are our best bet. Nick, can you get people on looking for Carter's car. Maybe he parked somewhere that others can see it."

"That's a lot of spots, but I'll get on the horn and make sure that law enforcement in those areas start looking for it." Nick turned and picked up the phone.

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Pulling into the front of the Flamingo, Warrick and Greg walked into the casino. "You know the difference between the older casinos and the new mega-hotels is like day and night."

Warrick agreed, "Wynn and those other guys think bigger is better, but I'm old school. I like the idea that I'm playing the same table that Sinatra did."

"They should put up signs, you know like Washington slept here, only it would be "Sammy Davis won here."

"Hey, he was allowed to be on the stage but soon as the show was done he was out the door."

"A person has to wonder how long the Strip might have stayed segregated if it wasn't for the opening of the Moulin Rouge?" Greg reflected, "A lot of people think that the other casino owners worked together to put them out of business. Ironic considering most of the owners of Moulin Rouge were white. They opened it purely as a way to tap into a huge pool of black gamblers who weren't welcomed anywhere else."

"Yeah, but after the strip was desegregated in 1960, everyone wanted to be treated like the white high-rollers."

The two stopped in front of the security office. Greg smiled and bowed, "After you sir."

"See, that's what I'm talking about. Respect and butt-kissing." Warrick laughed and pushed the door open. There was a younger woman sitting at a desk and several closed doors leading to other rooms. "Hello, I'm Warrick Brown," he pulled out his badge. "We need to speak to Frank Meyerholtz."

"Is Mr. Meyerholtz expecting you?"

"I don't think so, but we need to see him immediately."

"Not a problem. His shift should be ending soon. Let me radio for him to come in."

"Thanks." Warrick smiled.

Within five minutes they were sitting in one of the office's interrogation rooms speaking with Frank Meyerholtz.

"I really don't know what I can tell you about Doug. We've had a few beers and hung out a couple of times, but we never really talked about much."

The younger man had a receding hairline and while athletically fit, Greg had decided that in a few years there would be a paunch hanging over the wide belt. "Did he ever talk about his family?"

"He did mention that he had a young nephew. Talked about wanting to bring him out here and teach him to hike. It kind of sounded like it must have been a messy divorce or something because he said his ex-sister-in-law wouldn't let him see the kid."

"Did he mention any place in particular that wanted to hike with him?"

"I remember him talking about growing up around Yosemite. Said that none of the mountains around here compared."

"Think, was there anything else?"

"Trees." Meyerholtz snapped his fingers. "Trees. He talked about that the only good mountains around here were the ones at Charleston because they had the best trees. He said you needed trees when you hiked."

The two CSI's looked at each other and smiled, this was a start.

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He stood there, panting for a moment, trying to catch his breath. The attack had been quick; unexpected. The two men had rolled back and forth on the ground, vying for control of the semi-automatic. The sound of it firing still caused his ears to ring.

"So, what now." The injured man looked up at him, a flicker of pain crossed his features and was quickly replaced by a stony gaze.

"I'm thinking."

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Nick closed his phone. "That was Warrick. They spoke with some co-workers. According to one of them, Carter spoke about the mountains at Humbolt-Toiyabi National Forrest."

"Great, lets head out." Don was eager to move; inactivity was wearing on him.

"That area is close to 60,000 acres." Nick's voice expressed the immensity of the situation.

"Do you have topographical maps of the whole area?" Charlie ask, a slightly distant look in his eyes.

"Yes, we can down load from the US Geographical Survey sight."

"What are you thinking Charlie?"

"A variant on some of the search grids we've used before. I could possibly look at a pursuit curve, but I'm thinking that using a metaheuristic search method" He looked at Nick. "Do you have a chalkboard or something?"

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"How bad are you hit."

"Why don't you come over and take a look for yourself." He winced as he moved slightly.

"Forgive me if I don't think I can trust you."

He lifted his shirt to appraise the damage done. Blood had already soaked through and he hissed slightly as he wiped at the blood with the lower portion of his shirt. The bullet had taken a deep bite along his side as it had passed between the two men. It was bleeding freely, but as his grandmother had told him, "it's a long ways from your heart."

"Looks like a flesh wound."

"Yeah, ain't I lucky. I suppose you want me back over to the tree."

"This time I'd recommend that you don't try anything Granger."

Colby rolled to his knees and stood up, his hand pressed painfully to his side trying to slow the blood flow. "Why? You going to shoot me? Oh wait, you've done that already."

"It was accidental. I'm not planning on killing you quickly."

"I was wondering when you were going to tell me your plans." Colby sat down and put his arms behind him.

"When Dwayne came back from Afghanistan it was like they sent back a different guy. I was home on leave and came out to Los Angles to visit him and Jennifer. We went out one night to party and he got pretty trashed. Told me of some of the things you guys did over there. I can see why he was messed up." Doug had sat down facing Colby, his face lost in the memories. "Within six months Jennifer filed for divorce and Dwayne could only see Mikey every other weekend. She told the courts that she was afraid that Dwayne would do something to hurt them. He wouldn't have hurt them, he loved them. He starts working for the government and I think everything is back on track. Suddenly, out of the blue he's arrested and they tell us that he's a traitor."

"Doug, I know what it's like to be an older brother. When you fuck up you don't want your siblings to make the same mistakes you did. Think about it Doug. Would Dwayne want you doing this. Hasn't your mother suffered enough with this."

His face darkened, "Leave my mother out of this. It broke her heart. Watching her cry and knowing there was nothing you could do. When I heard that you and him had escaped and were on the run I thought, "good, he's with a friend". He trusted you and you got him killed."

"He was killed by the Chinese after he killed Mason Lancer, a Chinese spy. Lancer was trying to kill me. That was the second time Dwayne saved my life." Colby shifted slightly, feeling the blood still trickling from the wound although he could tell that it had slowed down.

"So my brother traded his life for yours. A "friend" that turned him in."

"That's my job Doug." Colby leaned his head back slightly and closed his eyes. The loss of blood wasn't enough to kill him, but he was feeling a little light-headed. He could hear movement and opened his eyes. Doug had moved next to him and was now kneeling next to him.

"I told you that I was planning on killing you, I lied."

"Does that mean now that we've had our heart to heart you're letting me go?" Colby wasn't holding out much hope for that possibility.

"I'm not killing you, far as I'm concerned it will be nature just taking its course." He pulled out a bandana and wrapped it around Colby's eyes. "Any last words?"

"You're a coward Doug. Leaving me like this. Not enough balls to do it your self. Were you planning on Michelle killing me in the hotel room? How did she figure into your little revenge plan?"

"When I found out you were coming to Vegas I started to plan a surprise for you. Michelle was just to get you into the room. She wasn't supposed to sleep with you. I come in and find the whore naked. She didn't even try to hide the fact, said that she couldn't go through with anything and we needed to leave. Next thing I know she's dead and I decide to change my plans, after all, the idea of you in prison was enough to make me feel like justice would be served. I should have taken care of you then. My mistake was to trust the system, I should have known they would manage to take care of their own."

"So you kill your girlfriend and try to pin it on me. How about the bartender?"

"Friend of Michelle's, he got nervous." Doug pulled out another bandana and forced open Colby's lips. After tying it behind his head he stood up and looked at the agent. "Sorry, but I don't have time for any more questions. Long hike back don't you know. I'd like to say I'll be seeing you again, but I don't think that's going to happen. Good-bye Granger. I hope you have plenty of time to sit here and think about your sins."

Grabbing the backpack Doug shouldered it and checking his gps unit he started back in the direction he came.

Once Colby could no longer hear any sign of the other man he started to work on the gag. After fifteen minutes he had it loosened enough to let is slip from his mouth. Taking a deep breath, he set to work on the blindfold.


	16. Chapter 16

Author's Notes: Sorry about the long wait. I'll not bore you with the details, but suffice to say I have not been sitting around and eating bon-bons. I hope that this chapter will make it up to you. I thank all of you that have reviewed or have added this as a favorite. That means a lot, thanks.

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They were on their way towards Humbolt-Toiyabi National Forrest. Charlie had come through again; at least that was what Don was hoping. It seemed that his brother was correct so much of the time that the idea Charlie being wrong rarely crossed Don's mind.

Don sat quietly in the passenger seat and Nick was driving the SUV, leading a procession of four police cruisers with lights flashing. Charlie was working in the backseat with his laptop, attempting to crunch the information into a definitive search quadrant.

"Don," Charlie didn't look up from his computer. "I've pulled up some statistics put together by the National Park System. They track the estimated number of people that use the trail system and it would seem to me that if Doug were taking Colby into the mountains he would select a lesser used trail."

Nick spoke up from the driver's seat. "Yeah, except a lot of these parks have maintenance roads and other spots that the average person wouldn't know about."

"True, but if Doug is confident that we've taken his false trail he wouldn't have much reason to take that kind of precaution."

"But we still don't know if this is his destination." Nick glanced in the rearview mirror at the mathematician; Charlie's dark head still bend over the laptop computer.

"Nick, it took me a while but I've learned to trust Charlie's math and his instincts. He might not have a crystal ball, but sometimes I swear he's got one."

"It's your call." Nick focused on the road, hoping that they were headed in the right direction.

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In another vehicle David, Warrick and Greg were talking as both David and Greg looked over maps of the area.

"Lots of ground to cover."

David looked up from his map, "It is, but hopefully Charlie will have an idea on how to narrow the scope of our search."

"So Charlie uses math to figure out everything?" Warrick chuckled lightly. "How's that work when it comes to picking up women?"

"Judging by his girlfriend, it works. Maybe he'll give you a copy of the book he wrote on developing relationships based on trust metrics." David smiled as he went back to his map.

"If that gets me girls I wish I paid more attention in calculus."

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"Stokes." Nick answered his phone. "What! Are you sure? Ok, we should be there in about fifteen minutes."

No sooner had he snapped his phone shut Don was questioning him. "What?"

"Park Service reported an Accord matching the description of Doug Carter's just tried to crash through a roadblock."

"Did they stop him?"

"They reported that he went off a road and they are working to free him from the wreckage. They said he was alone in the car."

Don fell silent. The implication hung heavy in the air. If he was alone that meant that he had already dealt with Colby.

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The blindfold over his eyes had proven more difficult then the one in his mouth. The bark on the pine tree was relatively smooth and so there wasn't much to snag it on. Of course now that it was off there wasn't much to look at.

Sitting with his back against the tree and his arms stretched backwards around the trunk and cuffed together Colby realized that there was no possible escape. "Oh wait, sure I could try to pull my hand out of the cuff and break bones and severe tendons. I'm sure the pain would be tolerable." Colby's inner voice spoke to him sarcastically.

Looking at the shadows starting to lengthen, he estimated the time at around 6pm. "Looks like I'll be spending a night in the mountains. Hell I'll probably be spending eternity here." He leaned his head back and closed his eyes for a moment. He hoped that Don had discovered that he was missing and hadn't just wandered off again. Hoped that David had checked the security tapes. Hoped that Charlie would figure out where in the hell he was. Hoped that he wouldn't die chained like a damn animal.

Colby shivered slightly, the lighter shirt he was wearing had been fine for the desert temperature but the coolness of the higher elevation was already noticeable. "At least it's not raining," he thought.

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Don had called David and filled him in. Now he was watching out the window as the vehicle climbed steadily into the National Forrest. Flashing lights on a park vehicle cut the gathering shadows as the sun sank slowly into the West.

Nick pulled up and flashed his badge. "How much farther?"

"About half a mile, the road curves sharply."

"Thanks."

Silence descended again and in moments they came to the scene of the accident. Don was out of the vehicle before Nick had even come to a complete stop. Heading over to a group of three park rangers, Don pulled out his identification. "Where's Doug Carter?"

"He's still in the car, emergency workers are cutting him out right now."

"Is he conscious?"

Another ranger responded, "Not while I was with him. I was trying to get him to pull over when he skidded around the corner and rolled it over the edge. Lucky it didn't happen fifty yards further back, they would be cleaning it up with buckets and shovels."

Nick and Charlie had both approached and were listening to the comments. Charlie flipped open the small laptop again. "Can you show me where you started to pursue him?"

"Sure." The ranger walked over and looked at the screen. "Right about here. I saw him coming off of the road here and when I flipped on my lights he took off like a bat out of hell."

"So where does this road lead to?" Charlie was moving the on screen map to see the destination.

"One of the trail head parking lots is up that way. There is an old fire road too, but it dead-ends about one mile in."

"Great." Charlie began typing more in. "This is really going to narrow down our search grid."

The third ranger shook his head. "This is one of the more advanced trails. Not just your average walk in the park kind of trail."

"According to co-workers, Carter did a lot of hiking out here." Nick spoke up. "Any place you might take someone if you were wanting." He trailed off, not sure how to finish the thought.

"Look around" said one of the rangers with a half laugh. "This entire park is a perfect dumping ground."

Before Don could respond back, a group of men bearing a rescue litter. Hurrying towards the ambulance they were attempting to treat the patient as they moved.

As they loaded Carter into the back of the ambulance Don grabbed one of the attendants. "How bad is he?"

"Bad. We've got a pulse, but he stopped breathing on us. We've got a tube down him and he's on oxygen. I don't know if he'll make it."

"We need to talk to him." Don sounded as desperate as he felt. "He abducted an agent. He's the only one who knows where the agent is."

"Sorry. If he makes it we will let you know." He shut the door to the ambulance behind him.

Don watched the ambulance drive off as the shadows deepened. Evening was approaching quickly and darkness would soon overtake the mountains.

"Don?" Charlie's voice was excited. "I've got a search grid that takes into account the time factor for how far Carter would have been able to travel based on the when he grabbed Colby."

"Great, where do we start?" He motioned for Nick and the Park Rangers over. "Charlie has a search grid for us."

"The area marked within this red boundary would be the outer limits of where Carter and Colby could have traveled."

"What's the distance on that?" One of the rangers was glancing at the small screen.

"Just over a mile square."

"Christ, that's over 640 acres."

"I know it's a lot, but in order to be sure I had to take into account the all the possibilities." Charlie felt somewhat defensive; he was used to having more support for his theories.

"Well we will get started at first light." The older ranger informed the group. "Can you get use a copy of the search perimeter?"

"Morning?" Charlie questioned. "Can't you get started tonight?"

"Sure, if you want to get someone hurt. Stumbling around on the side of the mountain in the dark is a recipe for disaster."

Charlie turned to look at his brother, crestfallen. "Don."

"Charlie, Colby's tough. He'll be fine." Don's voice was gentle; he could tell that Charlie was worried about their friend.

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The stars had popped out and were shining dimly; the light pollution from Vegas kept the sky from ever becoming fully dark. It was dark enough in the trees and Colby couldn't make out much detail more than seven feet away.

It had gotten cooler as the sun went down and the cramps that had begun in his shoulders had spread to his back. No amount of his limited movement would ease the pain. Attempting to shift into a more comfortable position he had felt his side begin to bleed again.

Closing his eyes and trying to wish away the pain, Colby thought about the various times in the past that the team had come through for each other. He hoped that this would be another one of those times.


	17. Chapter 17

Author's notes: Thanks for those who have read and those who have reviewed. Just a little crumb too finish out the weekend and because I'm evil.

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The tow truck had arrived and they had pulled the car back up onto the road. David, Warrick and Greg had also arrived and now under the portable lights the CSI's were working on processing the car.

"Looks like a portable GPS unit." Greg had found Carter's device. "Possibly it was damaged in the crash."

"Hikers use those a lot," Warrick commented. "He could have used it to get to where he left Granger."

"If the memory wasn't damaged we should be able to see where he's been." Greg put the pieces into an evidence bag. "If you want to finish up the car I'll go in and get started on this."

"Go ahead. If I need help I'll pull Nick over." Warrick gestured with a nod of his head towards the knot of men that were talking and looking at a computer.

Charlie had started looking at the search grid he had composed. The ranger's earlier words about the amount of terrain to cover were replaying in his mind as he spoke about the most likely spots. When he had finished, Nick took over.

"Charlie has put this onto a flash drive" Nick was talking to the lead ranger. "Get it downloaded and printed. I want to get started tomorrow at first light. We will have officers from the LVPD and we are putting out the word to get some volunteers who have experience in this location."

As the rangers left Nick looked sympathetically at Don and Charlie. "I know you really want to get started right away, but they are right about someone getting hurt if we tried to find him in the dark. Let me drive you two and David back into town and you can get some sleep."

"I don't know if I can." Charlie replied truthfully.

"Tomorrow will be a long day, you'll need your strength." Nick motioned for David to join them.

"He's right Charlie. If you're going to help Colby you'll need some rest." Don placed a guiding hand on Charlie's back and together they stepped towards the vehicle.

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He didn't know what was bothering him more. The incredible thirst he was experiencing, the pain in his arms, the pain in his side or the feeling of the insects that had started crawling on him. Colby had been debating this internally for a while. It had to be the thirst.

Even in the dry region of Afghanistan, Colby had always had water with him. Granted, it most often was hot and tasted of purification pills but right now he would gladly trade his paycheck for a glass of it.

He closed his eyes and tried to think of anything other than his thirst. A noise from the underbrush to his right caused his eyes to snap open. He couldn't see anything to identify the cause, but from the sounds it wasn't anything big enough to cause him trouble.

"Lucky I've spent so much time in the woods." Colby's eyes closed again as his internal conversation began again. "Haven't been camping as much as I have wanted to recently. Guess I'm getting my chance now."

It was a short time later when Colby fell into a fitful sleep. Had he been awake it was doubtful that he would have seen the dim starlight glinting off the eyes of the one that watched him.


	18. Chapter 18

Author's notes: Thanks for the reviews. Please note there is some swearing in this chapter. Some offensive things may be said.

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The drive back into Las Vegas was quiet, each man lost in their thoughts. David's face was stony as he looked at the lights out the window, a muscle in his jaw worked as he tried to keep himself from shouting out in frustration.

Charlie was sitting beside him; his face was illuminated by the faint glow of the laptop computer. Reworking his math for the hundredth time, the young professor was searching for anything he might have missed. He could feel the pressure, no the responsibility for Colby's rescue resting heavily upon his shoulders. No one would ever say it, but he knew that they were counting on his math to bring Colby back to them.

With his eye's closed, Don appeared to be the only one in the vehicle who was sleeping. This couldn't have been further from the truth. Don's mind was continually turning over the scant information they currently knew and was trying to find something that they might have missed. It was inconceivable to Don that once again he had managed to have a member of his team in danger.

The Las Vegas strip was going full tilt; partiers filled the sidewalks and often the streets. Nick flicked on the red and blue lights and cleared a path for the vehicle. Pulling up in front of the hotel, Nick watched as the three men climbed out. After making arrangements to pick them up in the morning, Nick headed towards his own house, hoping to catch a little sleep before he needed to return.

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The man under the tree hadn't moved for a while; the time might be right. Keeping to available cover and eyes unblinking, the figure crept closer.

A rustle from the right halted his progress. Stopping and waiting he decided that it had been a small creature, perhaps a rabbit that had disturbed the quiet. Blinking once, he started forward again. Looking around he could see the outstretched legs. The tang of blood caught his attention. Perhaps the man was dead. Feeling that this was his chance, he rushed forward, ready to attack.

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They were on the elevator and on their way up to the rooms when Don's cell phone rang.

"Eppes." The elevator door opened and they moved out into the foyer. Don held up a finger to stop the others from leaving. "Ok. About how long until we can speak to him?" A lengthy pause was punctuated by Don's face contorting into a scowl. "So how long until it wears off?"

Charlie and David exchanged a glance. It appeared that Don was finding out information about Carter's condition. Hope blossomed in each man. Perhaps they would get the location of Colby from his abductor.

"Alright, call me then." Don snapped the phone shut. "He's out of surgery, but is so heavily sedated he'll be out of it for hours. They said he's got a broken spine, head trauma and a variety of other broken bones." Don sighed wearily, "Lets get some sleep. Nick said he would be back to pick us up at 6:00 a.m.."

David opened the door to his room and with a backwards glance he bid the brothers a good night.

Swiping the magnetic key into the slot, Don pushed it open after the metallic click of the lock releasing. Sensing his older brother's mood Charlie tried to reassure him. "You've said it before Don. Colby's a survivor."

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Warrick had finished at the crash site and had headed back to the lab with a variety of evidence backs. There had been lots of blood to swab, but being a betting man Warrick laid odds on it being from Carter. The remaining emergency workers had said that the condition of the man had been critical.

Carrying his box into the lab he stopped to hand off the samples to a technician. Warrick could see Greg over in another room. Setting down the other items, he made his way over.

"Hey Greg. Any luck?"

"This GPS unit was pretty smashed, but I've been about to locate some data. I'm still working though."

"What have you got so far?"

"Locations in two different parks. I'll pass the information along in the morning and get someone checking them out. Maybe his being at Humbolt-Toiyabi was just an attempt to throw us off the trail?"

"I don't know about that. Seems like him being there would indicate that is where he dumped the agent. Besides, their math genius said that this place had the highest probability."

"Yeah, but how many times have we seen people do the unpredictable?" Greg bent back over the crushed electronics and continued to work.

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Colby didn't hear the movement of his attacker, but woke suddenly when he felt the mouthful of teeth closing in around his leg. Yelling out more in surprised than pain, he kicked his leg in reaction.

The teeth released and over the pounding of his heart he could hear the hurried retreat of the coyote. The pain in his lower leg flared as the initial rush of adrenaline faded.

"Son of a bitch." Colby yelled again; the pain, frustration and hopelessness exploding from inside him. "God-damned, mother fucking son of a bitch. Keep the fuck away from me. I'm not fucking dead yet you bastard. Not fucking dead yet." Colby's head rested again on the tree as he fought to control his emotions; wetness escaping from closed eyelids. "I'm not fucking dead!"

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Don had slept fitfully and after rolling over and seeing the time for what had to be the thousandth time he finally decided it was early enough that he could go ahead and get up. Climbing into the shower, he let the hot water pound against him. He would have stayed until the water ran cool, but he heard Charlie flip on the television.

Shutting the water off, he ran his hands over his head to squeeze as much water out of his hair as possible. He toweled off and then wrapped the damp towel around his lean hips and opened up the door. Steam billowed out into the cooler room and he felt the cool rush against his skin.

"Morning." Don spoke to his brother who was seemingly engrossed in the cable news. "I left you some hot water."

"Thanks. The story hit CNN and FOX. They are reporting the crash and the manhunt. I'm surprised they haven't mentioned anything about the spying."

"I think that the Department of Justice has tried to keep that pretty hush-hush. Can't let the public realize how much of a threat there is."

"I guess." Charlie stood and headed to the bathroom. "I'm going to take a quick rinse."

"Take your time, we've got half an hour before Nick gets here." Don pulled off the towel and slide into his briefs. Walking over to the window he pulled back the heavy drapes to revel the brightly lit Strip below; the glow of the lights illuminating the early morning sky and giving a false illusion of an approaching dawn.

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In her Los Angles apartment, Megan Reeves found herself unable to sleep as well. Having done all that she could do from the office, she had went home and poured herself a glass of wine. The bottle had been three-quarters gone when she realized how much she had drunk.

Carrying the remaining to the kitchen, she dumped it down the drain and headed off to bed. The taste of Crest toothpaste and Merlot were an unpleased combination so she quickly brushed her teeth and then climbed into bed.

The sheets were cool against her flushed cheek and she closed her eyes hoping for sleep to find her. Aided by the wine, she soon slipped into a fitful sleep.

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His leg felt like it was on fire. He couldn't see the full extent of the injury because of the low light and the angle, but was glad at the limited protection that his jeans had provided. It was bleeding, that much he knew, but how severe the damage was he couldn't tell; it sure hurt like hell. "I'll need rabies shots. Assuming I even get out of here."

Author's note: Take heart Colby, morning is just around the corner!


	19. Chapter 19

Author's notes: First thanks for the reviews. It does inspire me to write faster. Also being done with school for the summer (driver's ed in June) also helps! By the way, I am not a doctor, nor do I play one on TV, so if my medical jargon does not ring true, lash me not with IV tubing! Also, as always the Numb3rs/CSI characters belong not to me. Colby's family names are my own creation since CBS hasn't given us anything to work with.

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Nick fought back the temptation to throw his alarm clock across the room. Reaching out he slapped at the off button and forced himself out of his bed. Crossing to the bathroom, he peeled out of his boxers that he had worn to bed and tossed them into the dirty clothesbasket. Turning the shower on, he let it warm for a moment before stepping in.

Less than five minutes later, Nick was back in the bedroom and pulling on a clean pair of jeans. Reaching into the closet, he grabbed the first shirt he came to and pulled it over his head.

Deciding to pick up coffee on the way, he headed outside. Living well away from the Strip meant that darkness still clung to the night. Perhaps a faint smudge of pink was evident on the eastern horizon, but it was hard to see.

He drove to a coffee shop and picked coffee for himself and three extra. He smiled at the young woman who handed him the coffee. "Morning Nick. Thirsty this morning?"

"Picking up some others. Hey, go ahead and give me a half-dozen of the muffins too."

"Sure thing." She smile and Nick thought there might be an extra wiggle in her walk to the back counter. Returning with a box containing the muffins, she rang up the order and continued to chatter on while Nick ran his debt card.

"Have a great day Nick."

"You too Sherry." Nick walked back to his vehicle and continued to the hotel to pick up the others.

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"Code Blue ICU 12. Code Blue ICU 12" A metallic sounding voice came over the loudspeaker and a flurry of activity broke out in room 12.

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She rolled over in bed and instantly regretted it. It felt like a small mouse, no a big one, was gnawing on the inside of her head trying to get out. Too much wine last night had helped to sleep but was now going to make the morning difficult to manage.

Megan groaned and looked at the clock. In an hour, give or take, they would be starting the search for Colby. Don had told her to stay in Los Angles, there was nothing she could do, but now she was regretting not being in Las Vegas. If she was there she could be helping with the search.

It was less than five hours to Vegas. She could be there and hopefully be part of the team looking for Colby. Jumping out of the bed, she hurried to take a quick shower and get on the road.

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They had come down to the lobby and had exited out into the cooler air of early morning. There were a few people still out at 5:45 a.m. Nick was due to pick them up in fifteen minutes so they were surprised when they saw the black Denali pull up to the front of the hotel.

Nick rolled down the window and with a nod of acknowledgment spoke, "I figured you might want to get an early start on it. I picked up some coffee and muffins."

"Thanks," Don replied as the men climbed into the vehicle. Accepting the coffee from Nick, he passed it back to David and the next one to Charlie. "Any word on things?"

"I got a call from Greg, he's still working on the GPS. He had a few hits, none from Humbolt-Toiyabi. I've contacted the Park Service and they are going to search those locations at first light." He indicated the box of muffins, "Help yourself. I don't know when we'll get a chance to eat."

"I spoke to the hospital last night at the hotel, nothing yet. Carter was heavily drugged after surgery."

"It would sure help out if he could just tell us where Colby is." David picked out a muffin from the box that Charlie had held out.

"Maybe he'll be up for questioning this morning."

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"Charge to 360 again. Clear."

"Still no heartbeat."

"Push 5 of epi and we'll hit him again."

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He wiggled his fingers again and then moved his arms the best he could. He had awoken again and after the panic of thinking that the coyote had returned had passed he concentrated on trying to keep blood flowing to his arms and fingers. The sharp pinpricks of pain told him that the feeling was slowly returning and he steeled himself for the possibility of cramping.

Colby had never been the type to get panicky when alone. After his father had died, the young teen would often go on overnight camping trips by himself. The closeness of the stars seemed to bring him comfort; a feeling like he could almost reach to the heavens and be with his Dad. He never would have admitted it to anyone, even his mother who had been his rock during that time, but often during his overnights the tears would flow like the spring rains. It had been part of his own healing process, something that the school counselor had tried to do with her talk of "stages of grief".

Tipping his head back he could see the stars through the gaps in the trees. Focusing on a bright star, he couldn't see enough of the surrounding ones to know which star he looked at, but it didn't matter. Looking hard he tried to calm the unease that had grown within him. He thought about his father, Matthew Granger, how he looked in the pictures from his youth and as a young man. Colby knew that he was the spitting image of his father, something that his mother never failed to mention when she would see him. Colby had already reconciled with her over her own feelings of hurt regarding his alleged betrayal of the United States. Don had contacted her when he was in the hospital after he was flown off the Chinese freighter and it was Don that had told her the entire story, letting her know that her son was a hero.

"It will be hard for her to lose me too." Colby thought, accepting what was going to be his fate. "Candice and Michelle will be there to help." His younger sisters, one who still lived close and the other who had relocated after college to Chicago, would help ease the blow. "I hope they find my body. Closure will be best."

He realized that the star had grown fuzzier; the tears that had welled up in his eyes thinking about his family had obscured his vision. Blinking he cleared them and decided that perhaps the sky had lightened slightly. He was mulling the idea when the cramps began to spasm through his upper body. Crying out and past the point of caring about "sucking up the pain", his voice scattered the nocturnal animals that had been in the area.

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The night shift at the lab had started securing the projects they were working on; anticipating their replacements who were due to arrive within the next hour. A frustrated Greg was still attempting to glean the current information from the handheld GPS unit that had come from Doug Carter's car.

Warrick had left several hours ago stating that Greg should pass off the project to a night worker and try to get some sleep. Like a dog with a bone, Greg had refused to give it up and was hunched over the remains.

"Crap." Greg sat up and stretched out his back quickly, hearing several pops as his spine aligned.

"What's up Greg?"

Looking up, Greg spotted Denise Jensen, one of the newer technicians approaching him. She worked day shift, but had the newbie habit of coming into work early. "Hey Denise. I'm trying to recover some data from this GPS unit."

"Glad you told me what it was, doesn't look like much right now."

"Went through a car crash. It might have some data on it that could lead us to the location of the missing FBI agent."

"No shit, I saw that on CNN. I didn't know you were working the case." She was obviously impressed, something Greg didn't fail to notice.

"Catherine usually relies on me in cases like this." He watched her admiration grow. "Would you want to give me a hand?"

"Most definitely. Lets see what you've got so far." She moved in closer to look at Greg's data and the two began working to retrieve the information they hoped was stored within the memory.

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Pulling into the Ranger Station, the men were not surprised to see a flurry of activity already. True to their word, the rangers had arranged for additional help and men and women were being assigned search grids. Crossing over to the command post, Nick and Don waited patiently while the lead ranger finished speaking to someone on the phone.

"Morning gentlemen. We've got about 25 minutes until sunrise, so we have searchers moving into position. I thought that it would be best for you to wait here until we have some results."

"No way." Don and David both voiced.

Nick intervened. "I think we have enough experience that we shouldn't be a hindrance. We can work at least one of the grids."

"I could stay back and help with the incoming information," Charlie suggested. "When grids start reporting back I can track the data and perhaps narrow down our coordinates."

"All right." The ranger acquiesced. "Here is your search area, we are reporting on channel 17."

"You two ready?" Nick looked at Don and David.

"Let's go find Colby."

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Megan looked at the green sign she had just passed, "Las Vegas 100 miles", it had read. Pulling out her cell phone she decided to call Charlie. She knew that he would be more receptive to her sudden arrival. Not that she was too worried about Don. He would understand her desire to help with finding their teammate.

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The cramps were subsiding again. The inability to rub his aching muscles made it necessary for the oxygen starved muscles to unknot them selves. Colby was breathing heavily, trying to deal with the pain that had racked him for what seemed like hours.

He had thrashed around enough that he could feel the gunshot along his side bleeding again. The agent was sure that he hadn't lost enough to be worried, but the bigger concern was dehydration and the likelihood that infection had already set in from both the wound and the bite. He wasn't sure which was causing it, but he was feeling very warm and he was having problems keeping himself focused.

He knew what hot was, having served in Afghanistan, but the internal heat was impossible to take. He could feel sweat breaking out on his face and back. Once the sun rose and the day turned warmer it would only intensify his discomfort.

Colby leaned his head back again. The stars had faded from the sky. He thought about the significance of that; morning was coming and his guiding light was gone. Closing his eyes he waited.


	20. Chapter 20

Author's notes: Here is another chapter. Thanks again for the reviews, they make writing worth it.

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"Hey Charlie." Megan had been surprised to get Charlie's voice mail. "It's Megan. I'm on my way there. I should be to Vegas in another hour or so. Give me a call so I know where to meet you guys at."

Sitting the phone back beside her, Megan turned up the radio to distract herself and keep driving. As the miles ticked off, she found herself wondering what they would do if they lost Colby. It didn't seem fair, that after thinking that they had lost him as a team member when arrested for spying and then when Lancer had tried to kill him, Colby seemed to draw danger like a lighting rod.

Feeling tears prickling at her eyes, Megan tried to will them back, telling herself that it wouldn't do any good. She always had a hard time defining her relationship with Colby. Sometimes she felt like an older sister watching over a mischievous younger brother, there were days that she was a senior agent guiding a new recruit and only on occasion would she admit to herself; a silly teenager with a crush on the quarterback.

It was that part that she kept deeply buried. When he had first started there had been a few sparks and Colby had always flirted shamelessly with her. She had reciprocated and waited for him to make a move. Several times when the team went out for drinks she thought that the tequila and beer would help things along. But Colby never made a move and she couldn't bring herself to possibly embarrass her if he turned her down, so when Larry showed interest she accepted his offer to date.

Reaching up and wiping at the tears, she focused on the road ahead of her.

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"We've got a heartbeat."

"All right, lets make sure he's stabilized."

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The night had taken forever, but now that the sun was up it seemed that the sun moved higher into the sky at a quick pace.

Don pulled out a water bottle and took a deep pull on it. The sun was also warming up the day. At their elevation the temperature was warm, but not uncomfortable. However the off trail hiking was creating quite a workout.

So far no one had found any sign of the missing agent. Don and the others were just about finished with their first search grid; once done they would call in and receive their next location.

Walking to the meeting point, Don could see Nick was already there and was currently on the phone.

"Alright. Thanks for calling." Nick rang off and looked at Don, frustration on his face. "Hospital called. Doug Carter coded this morning. They got him back, but they're concerned that he might not pull through."

"Damn it." Don exploded. "That bastard dies and that will be our only lead."

"Hey, from what I've heard, your brother has managed to pull out some incredible cases for you. I don't see why this won't be any different." Nick tried to bring Don out of his mood.

Both men saw David walking towards them. They would be moving to another grid.

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Colby wasn't foolish enough to think that the day had taken a cooler turn, the chills that were racking his body were the result of an infection. He could feel the sweat beading up on his face and upper body and he found himself fading in and out of awareness.

He had thought he heard Dwayne Carter talking to him. Dwayne was chiding Colby for being in this predicament and not having him there to bale him out. "Shut up Dwayne. I get it; I owe you. Now leave me the hell alone." Colby was surprised by the hoarseness of his voice. Had he been screaming at some point? He didn't remember.

Don who was now telling Colby what a fuck up he was had replaced Carter. "Sorry I let you down Don. I'm sorry ok, I'm sorry." Colby's head dropped forward as he faded out again.

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Megan tried Charlie's cell phone again. This time Charlie picked up. "Charlie Eppes."

"Charlie, this is Megan. Did you get my first message?"

"What? Oh, I'm sorry Megan, I must have missed it."

"That's o.k., any word on Colby?"

"Nothing yet, we've eliminated several search areas and I'm hopeful we'll find him soon." Charlie's voice was strained.

"Is Don around?"

"No. He's out with a search party." Charlie watched as another grid was checked off.

"I'm on my way there. In fact depending on where there is at I should be close. I'm coming up to the Highway 156 exit."

"Take that and follow it into the Mount Charleston Wilderness Area and head for the main ranger station."

"Will do." Megan paused. "Charlie, if you talk to Don, please don't tell him I'm coming ok. I'll see you soon."

"All right. Bye."

Charlie turned his attention back to the board with the search areas outlined. Another volunteer was blacking out the areas already cleared. Bending back to his computer he began to enter the new data.

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"I think that's it!" Denise Jensen, lab technician, exclaimed loudly. "Greg, wake-up, I think I got it."

A sleepy Greg roused himself from the chair he had fallen asleep in. "What?"

"I've managed to access the most recent data from the GPS." Denise smiled broadly. "It might be the information you need to help find the FBI agent."

"You are a genius Denise and if this is what we need, you'll be a hero." Greg picked up his phone and dialed Nick.

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"Stokes. What do you have for me Greg?" Nick looked over at Don and David who were standing by the front of the Denali looking over a map. "You did! Hold on let me get some paper."

"Don, get me something to write this down on. Greg has the information from the GPS." Nick shared the good news with the others. "Alright Greg, give me the numbers."

David grabbed the map and started to plot the information. The spot was in one of the search grids that Charlie had predicted as a lower probability.

"There is a second one as well? I'm ready." Nick continued to write. "Got it Greggo! Thanks man, we owe you. What? Well we owe her. Sure, I'll let you know." Nick flipped the phone shut. "The second numbers were also accessed recently."

"I say we get going on the first spot and give the other location to the rangers to cover." Don started picking up the items on the hood of the vehicle. "Lets get going."

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Charlie picked up his phone and saw that it was Don calling. "Hey Don. What?" Charlie's face was a mixture of emotions; relief, joy, and confusion. "That's great. I'll pass the other coordinates on and come and meet you."

Shutting the phone, Charlie gave the other set of coordinates to the lead ranger and informed him of the ones that Don was checking out. He was walking out to his vehicle when Megan pulled up.

"Charlie." Megan stepped out of the car and stretched. "Any news?"

"Yes, come on you can drive."

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Dwayne Carter was back. He was sitting cross-legged beside Colby and talking about Kandahar. Colby had not been paying attention. It was just like when they were in the Army; Dwayne chattering away and Colby sitting quietly.

"Come on Granger. You better suck it up."

"Shut up Dwayne and leave me alone."

"Can't do that buddy. I've always been there for you and hell it looks like I'll always be with you."

"I'm sick, leave me alone." Colby closed his eyes and tried to concentrate on anything other than his overwhelming thirst.

"Come on Colby, a tough Army Ranger wouldn't let a couple of scratches get in the way of completing a mission."

"S'not a mission." The words slurred slightly. "Your brother's fault."

"Damn punk. Always trying to impress me. Wanted to be just like me. I guess I let him down getting involved with the damn Chinese."

"Ya ink?" Slurring and sarcastic Colby's voice was low.

"Being dead gives you a new perspective Granger. Come on Colby, I didn't save your worthless ass just for you to buy it sitting by a tree."

"Tired." Colby slid into oblivion again.

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Charlie and Megan met up with Don and the others. Don gave Megan an inquisitive look, but didn't say anything. He knew that the feelings that the team had for one another ran deep, plus Megan tended to be a mother hen.

Pulling the map out from where David had marked the coordinates from the CPS unit, Don sat it over the hood of the vehicle. "Here is the area." Pointing to the area marked he looked at the others. If this is the spot, Colby could be up to 14 feet or so away from it, plus the underbrush is somewhat thick at this elevation."

"Charlie, you and Megan go along here." Don indicated a location. "Nick and David, you go here and I'll follow along this ridge."

The three groups headed out, the sun warm on their shoulders.


	21. Chapter 21

Author's notes: All right, the end in near. Thank all of you that have read or review this story. I've already been thinking about my next one. If you like Flashpoint, check in several days for my story, Broken Like Glass (Spike-entric, but whole team involved).

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He was sitting by a tree with his arms cuffed behind him. Megan and Charlie were almost finished with their first pass when they saw him. Charlie pulled out the radio and put out the word that Colby had been found.

Megan hurried over to him, Colby's eyes were closed and his lips were moving, but the words were muffled. "Colby, it's alright. It's Megan. We've got you." She ran a hand along his face and was surprised by the heat rising from the young man. "Charlie, tell them to have an ambulance ready."

Pulling out a handcuff key Megan went to the backside of the tree and unlocked the cuffs. The skin around Colby's wrists was chaffed raw and dried blood was crusted on his lower arms. "Help me lay him down Charlie." Megan lowered Colby's arms.

They lowered Colby to the ground and Megan continued her assessment of his injuries. Unbuttoning his shirt she carefully pulled away the blood soaked material, "He's got a nasty looking flesh wound. It looks infected. His leg is bloody also, looks like he's been bitten," Megan's tone was incredulous.

On the ground Colby had been unresponsive when suddenly he began moaning and flailing weakly. Charlie looked imploringly at Megan. "What's wrong with him."

"I don't know. It could be the infection or the change in position is causing him to cramp." Megan leaned over spoke firmly. "Colby, what's wrong? Can you tell me where you are hurting?"

Colby's eyes opened to slits and he voice was a raw, pain filled whisper. "Arms, on fire. Put'em out Dwayne."

"Here Charlie," Megan motioned to Colby's other side, "start massaging gently." She grasped Colby's arm and started lightly kneading the muscles in his arms. "Easy Colby. Easy." She murmured to him.

"Charlie! Megan!" Don's voice carried through the woods.

"I'll get him." Charlie moved from Colby's side and headed in the direction of Don's voice.

Minutes later Don, David and Nick had joined Megan and Charlie around Colby's prone form. David had water and he was giving it to Colby in small sips. It was evident that Colby, while conscious, wasn't fully aware of his surroundings.

"He was talking to Dwayne Carter earlier." Megan told Don. "How much longer until the rescue crew gets here?"

"They are probably 20 minutes out at least. We called them as soon as we heard from you." He looked over at his younger brother and had noticed that Charlie had moved further away from the group. Walking over to him, Don spoke quietly. "What's wrong Chuck?"

"What's wrong? Look at him Don. He's suffering from dehydration, a bullet wound and some kind of bite wound. If I hadn't had everyone looking in the wrong spot, perhaps we would have found him faster."

"Charlie, math isn't infallible. You gave us what park to look in, you gave us the general area and given the limited information you had to work with I think you've done a good job." Don motioned back to Colby. "Human nature can't always be expressed in numbers and equations. Doug Carter wanted revenge and he made decisions based on emotions, not because they made the most sense. Colby trusts you Charlie and you didn't let him down."

Don's words sunk in and Charlie knew that it was right; he would have to ignore the guilty message bouncing around his brain telling him that he could have done more. "I know you're right Don, but I just feel like I should have done more."

"That's what makes you human Charlie. Come on, let's see if we can do anything to help." Don led his brother back to the group.

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It seemed like forever before the rescue crew arrived. Once there they took over the care of Colby. With in minutes they had him ready and were beginning the task of carrying the rescue litter back to the narrow service road that the ambulance was waiting on. David and Don had insisted on accompanying them and offered to help with carrying Colby if needed.

Several of the rangers that had come along with the rescue crew were now photographing the scene and taking notes. Nick knew it wasn't at the same level of detail that the Las Vegas CSI's would do, but this was an open and shut case.

"Nick," Charlie and Megan, a very attractive FBI agent in Nick's opinion, walked over to the CSI. "Do you need anything else from us? We thought if we headed back now we could get to the hospital."

"If we need anything I can get in touch with your brother." Nick held out his hand to Charlie. "It was sure nice getting to know you Charlie and I'm sorry if I ever doubted your math."

Smiling, the curly haired professor shook the offered hand. "It's alright, Don has been known to be a skeptic too."

"Megan. Thanks for your help out there today."

"Nice meeting you Colby. Thanks to you for helping the guys with everything." Megan shook his hand.

"Be careful walking back. I'll stop by the hospital later and see how Colby's doing." Nick shot them a grateful smile, "I better see if these guys need any help with processing the scene. See you later."

Megan and Charlie made their way back down to where their vehicle was parked. Their conversation was subdued and primarily dealt with speculation on Carter and his now unsuccessful plan to kill Colby.

"Why wouldn't he have just shot Colby and leave the body?" Charlie asked. "I mean, if I wanted someone dead I would have made sure that it was done."

"I'm thinking Carter wanted to give Colby lots of time to think about it. Maybe that's why he only wounded him, so that he could suffer slowly. I'm sure Carter would say he had suffered because of his brother's death and his plan would cause Colby to feel pain."

"He didn't know Colby very well."

"Why do you say that Charlie?" Megan looked at the young man.

"You can beat on Colby all you want, but if you want to really hurt him, you need to hurt his friends."

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They hurried into the emergency room on the heels of those pushing the gurney. Colby's temperature had continued to climb and at one point he had become combative. Fortunately he had been strapped down but he had strained against the hold of the restraints. Now the fight had gone out of him, but he was still rambling about Dwayne Carter.

The doors to a treatment room were opened and a nurse approached David and Don. "And where do you two think you're going?"

"Agent Granger is one of my team." Don felt himself steeling for a battle.

"And you're going to help him because you're a doctor too?" The nurse had her hands on her hips and appeared to be a formidable opponent.

"No, but." Don was cut off

"No." Nurse "Ratchet" wasn't' going to budge. "So you two will sit in the waiting area until the doctor is done." She turned and disappeared into the room.

"I guess we wait." David, while worried about his friend, had to swallow back a smile at seeing the tough as nails Don Eppes being dealt with by the determined nurse.

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It was close to an hour later. Charlie and Megan had arrived and the foursome now sat in the waiting area drinking coffee. Don had tried to look at the Sports Illustrated that mercifully was only two weeks old, but his attention kept going back to the doors leading to Colby.

A short balding man wearing scrubs approached the group. "Are you folks with Colby Granger?"

"Agent Granger. Yes." Don wanted to make sure that this man realized that who Colby was. "How is he?"

"He'll be fine. He is severely dehydrated, so we are working to get fluids and electrolytes back into him. The gunshot wound to his side is infected so we've also got him on antibiotics. There is what appears to be a bite wound on his lower leg. Do you know what caused it?"

"No." Don answered. "He didn't have it when he was abducted."

"Well, unless Agent Granger can tell us we will start rabies shots as well."

"When can we see him?" Megan interjected.

"We're moving him upstairs now and they'll want a little time to get him settled. Why don't you grab a bite to eat and come back in an hour?"

Don shook the doctor's hand and thanked him for tending to their friend. He then turned to the rest of his team, "Come on. I'll buy."

"Colby's going to be sorry to miss this event." David quipped at the group headed towards the hospital cafeteria.

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Colby was lying quietly against the cool sheets. The hands had finally let him alone and he was trying to remember where he was.

"It's the hospital. You didn't think heaven would look like this did you." Dwayne's voice broke the silence.

"Not heaven cause you're here." Colby mumbled.

"Hey. Good to see you too." David's voice replied.

He attempted to open his eyes. David was standing by him; looking down at him. "David." Colby tried to smile, but he felt his eyelids sliding shut.

David turned at looked at the others, smiling. "Gotta love him, sicker than hell and he's cracking jokes."

"I guess I'd be hoping for prettier angels too." Don smiled, relieved that everyone was together again.

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He rubbed his face and could feel the stubble on his face, hadn't he shaved? Opening his eyes he could see balloons and flowers sitting on a table, a TV screen displayed a cooking show and in a chair to the other side was the sleeping form of Megan.

Licking his lips and trying to scare up some moisture in his mouth, he noticed a tray beside his bed with a cup. Reaching out for it he felt shaky. Grabbing a hold, he brought it back and put the straw between his lips. The water was cool and he savored the feel.

"Hey, you're awake again." Megan was yawning and stretching in the chair.

"Again?"

"The last time you opened your eyes you didn't seem to know me."

"Why?"

"The gunshot you have along your side was infected and you've been really out of it."

"How bad?"

"They've got it under control with a hefty dose of antibiotics."

"No. Out of it?"

"Oh, well. You've been talking to people who aren't here."

"Great."

"Doctor said it was common with the infection and the dehydration."

"Doug?" Colby's voice was still rough. He moved the glass to take another drink and Megan reached over to help.

"He was in a car accident and isn't doing very well. He's been in a coma and he has a broken back."

"A waste." Colby's tone conveyed regret.

"Colby, he tried to frame you for murder and then kill you. I don't think you need to feel bad about him."

"Convinced it was my fault about Dwayne." Colby looked over at the bright sun streaming in from the window.

"Yes, because you are the one who forced Dwayne to spy for the Chinese." Megan chided her friend. "We talked about this before Colby and you know that Dwayne made is own decisions."

"I know. Doesn't make it easier." He closed his eyes again and felt Megan stroke his hand.

"No it doesn't."

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He was released from the hospital and Megan was waiting for him; she was going to fly back with him. Before he left he had someone to see.

The fourth floor was a critical care unit. The nurse had shown him back to the room and then had left them alone.

Colby approached the bed. Doug Carter lay amid a variety of tubes and connections. According to the nurse he was no longer in a coma, but he hadn't spoken or appeared to comprehend what was happening.

"Hello Doug." Colby sat in a chair next to the bed. "I wanted to let you know that I forgive you. I know that you feel that I'm responsible for Dwayne's death, but I'm telling you the truth when I say that he was a good friend and there is always going to be a little bit of him with me. If I could go back and make things different, talk him out of spying or hell even go back to Afghanistan and keep him from saving my sorry ass, I would." He looked at the man on the bed. His eyes were still closed and it didn't appear that Colby's words were reaching him. "Anyway. For what it's worth, I'm sorry."

Colby stood up and without a backwards glance, left the room.

Two eyes opened and the anger reflected in them was unmistakable.

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The room was filled with laughter as men in tuxedos waited patiently for the time to pass.

"Here bro, let me fix that for you again." Matt Sinclair looked at David as he straightened the bow tie. "That's why Claudia should have let you get clip-on's"

"Baby Brother, this is why I have a wife, I know that it's best to let her do her think."

"She's not your wife yet. There's still time for her to come to her senses and head off with me for a quickie wedding in Vegas."

David laughed and looked at his best friend. "Colby, if you had any sense you'd stay the hell out of Vegas. Besides, Claudia has better taste than that."

"Yeah," Don Eppes replied. "I'm more her type."

A door opened and the robed minister entered. "Gentlemen, it's time."

Suddenly the silence was deafening as David looked towards the door. Taking a deep breath he turned to his brother and friends. "Alright. Remember all of you are still single, so if you mess up my wedding, paybacks are going to be hell."

The men all laughed as they walked out of the room.


	22. Chapter 22

Author's notes: I had intended to have the last chapter be the end, but I didn't "complete" my listing, so I decided to give you just a little more.

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The music had started again and dancers were hitting the floor, all were anxious to continue the party atmosphere that filled the room. The bride and groom were moving through the crowd; thanking the guests for being part of their special day.

On the dance floor Charlie and Amita were dancing slowly, oblivious to the fact that the tempo of the new song was much faster than their slow sway. As they moved, Charlie's hand would occasionally make its way from her small waist to her face to caress it before stealing a quick kiss which elicited a laugh from Amita.

"They make a great couple. I wouldn't doubt that we are celebrating their wedding next." Megan nodded in the other couple's direction.

"I would have said that maybe it would be you and Larry."

"Really? I don't think Larry is the settling down type. It would be hard to be married and have a family when he's either in a monastery or floating above the earth." Megan grew more reflective and her voice became somewhat wistful. "This is just the equivalent to a summer time romance; passionate, but not for the long run."

"Hey, I didn't mean to bring you down. If you want to be depressed we can talk about my love life."

"Colby Granger, women are always throwing themselves at your feet." Megan laughed at her dance partner.

"The whole triple agent spy thing made it a little difficult to explain on a first date." Colby teased. "I declare all conversations on relationships cease."

"Agreed. So have you heard anything more on Doug Carter's condition?"

"Wow, you are really determined to kill my buzz." Colby replied ruefully. "He's been transferred to a minimum security facility with a medical wing. They report that he is still out of it and they don't know when or if he'll ever recover enough to stand trial."

"That must be hard for you." Megan began but was cut off by another voice.

"May I cut in?" Larry stood beside the couple.

"Here you go Larry, be careful. She's in her analytical mood." Colby moved back to allow the other man to take his place.

"Hey!" Megan started to defend herself, but Larry swung her into a faster dance step and into the crowd.

Colby made his way back to the table, but seeing Don and Liz deep in conversation, decided to try his luck at the bar. Minutes later he was armed with a beer and was in deep conversation with Claudia's college roommate.

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The lights were dim in the hospital wing. The few nurses and aides on duty were more interested in finishing paperwork or watching t.v.. No one took notice of the patient in room 12 sitting up on the edge of his bed and working on moving his legs.

The sweat poured down the side of his face with the exertion. He had been making steady progress with his own rehabilitation; the personnel of the hospital had no idea that he was awake or what he was capable of. He knew that he still had a long ways to go, but that was fine with him. Revenge is a dish best served cold.

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The end? Sequel someday? Perhaps.


End file.
